HEALTHM TTERSHEALTHM TTERSMARCH 26 - APRIL 1, 2015 PAGES 27-30

HEALTH

LET’S TALK About Breasts

THE BLACK community has been reared on a culture of privacy and keeping issues – in-cluding health worries

– close to our chests.For many years, the issue of

cancer, be it breast or prostate, which affects one in four black men, has been taboo.

But rigorous publicity awareness campaigns and fun-draising drives have brought it to the fore and encouraged more and more people affected by these diseases to shun ano-nymity and come forward to share their stories in hope of helping others.

UNCLEARResearch shows that one in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime [source: Breast Cancer Care]. However, black women diag-nosed with breast cancer in the UK have poorer relative survival rates than their white counterparts.

“The reasons for this are unclear, but may be due to de-lays in diagnosis through late presentation with symptoms

or lower uptake of screening opportunities,” leading charity Breast Cancer Care noted.

“The All Breast Cancer Re-port 2009 also showed that pa-tients known to be black were diagnosed with breast cancers

with a worse prognosis than those in other ethnic groups; their breast tumours were signifi cantly larger, of higher grade, more likely to be node positive and had worse Not-

tingham Prognosis Index (NPI) scores.”

GREATER RISKIn 2013, The Telegraph ran a story titled “Black women at greater breast cancer risk.”

The warning followed a UK study that found young black women (under 41 years of age) had worse breast cancer out-comes compared with young white women.

In the research, conducted by the University of South-ampton and involving 2,915 women who were aged 40 or younger when diagnosed with breast cancer, found that in general, young black women

had poorer relapse-free surviv-al compared with young white women.

Even after the researchers adjusted their fi ndings for fac-tors such as body mass index,

tumour size and whether the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes, black ethnicity was still associated with poorer relapse-free survival compared with white ethnicity. In other words, breast cancer was more likely to reoccur in black women.

There were no signifi cant differences in overall survival or breast cancer reoccurrence between white and Asian women.

The researchers speculated that there could be both genet-ic and social factors involved, citing, for example, that im-migrant women may be less likely to register with a GP.

BARRIERS“Language barriers could pre-vent recent immigrants from accessing health care, [the researchers] suggested, while some research suggests black women are less likely to self-check for lumps than other ethnic groups,” The Telegraph reported.

Conducted in 2013, the study also confi rmed previous re-search that showed that black women tend to have more ag-gressive tumours.

In addition to the University of Southampton, the study was carried out by researchers from University Hospital Southamp-

ton Foundation Trust, the Cen-tre for Statistics in Medicine, and Barts and The London School of Medicine and Den-tistry.

AWARENESSDr Julie Sharp, head of health information at Cancer Re-search UK, which funded the study, said: “It’s worrying that ethnic background may be a factor infl uencing a woman’s chance of surviving breast cancer.

“We know that some ethnic populations carry higher ge-netic risks of getting certain types of breast cancer, but if this difference is down to symptom awareness or access to health care, that is particu-larly concerning.”

Dr Ellen Copson, one of the authors of the study, said fur-ther research is needed to “pin down the exact cause or caus-es, so we can tackle this issue”.

Ethnicity aside, female breast cancer incidence rates in Great Britain have increased by 72 per cent since the mid-1970s.

In the UK in 2011, around 49,900 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, which to-tals more than 130 women

Research shows that black women diagnosed with breast cancer in the UK have poorer relative survival rates than their

white counterparts

By Dionne Grant

CONTINUED ON PAGE 28

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| THE VOICE MARCH 26 - APRIL 1, 201528 HEALTHM TTERS

Let’s talk about breasts

Breast self-ex-am (BSE), or regularly ex-amining your breasts on

your own, can be an important way to fi nd a breast cancer early, when it’s more likely to be treated success-fully. Not every cancer can be found this way, but it is a critical step you can and should take for yourself. About 20 per cent of the time, breast cancers are found by physical examination rath-er than by mammography [Breastcancer.org]

STEP 1: Begin by looking at your breasts in the mirror with your shoulders straight and your arms on your hips.Here’s what you should look for:• Breasts that are their usual size, shape, and colour• Breasts that are evenly shaped without visible distor-tion or swellingIf you see any of the following changes, bring them to your doctor’s attention:• Dimpling, puckering, or bulging of the skin• A nipple that has changed

position or an inverted nip-ple (pushed inward instead of sticking out)• Redness, soreness, rash, or swelling

STEP 2: Now, raise your arms and look for the same changes.

STEP 3: While you’re at the mirror, look for any signs of fl uid coming out of one or both nipples (this could be a watery, milky, or yellow fl uid or blood).

STEP 4: Next, feel your breasts while lying down, using your right hand to feel your left breast and then your left hand to feel your right breast. Use a fi rm, smooth touch with the fi rst few fi nger pads of your hand, keeping the fi ngers fl at and together. Use a circular motion, about the size of a quarter.

Cover the entire breast from top to bottom, side to side — from your collarbone to the top of your abdomen, and from your armpit to your cleavage. Be sure to feel all the tissue from the front to the back of your breasts: for the skin and tissue just beneath, use light pressure; use medium pressure for tissue in the middle of your breasts; use fi rm pressure for the deep tissue in the back. When you’ve reached the deep tissue, you should be able to feel down to your ribcage.

STEP 5: Finally, feel your breasts while you are standing or sit-ting. Many women fi nd that the easiest way to feel their breasts is when their skin is wet and slip-pery, so they like to do this step in the shower. Cover your en-tire breast, using the same hand movements described in step 4.

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CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27

How to check yourselfThe fi ve steps of a Breast Self-Exam

1 2 3 4 5

every day. In the same year, 350 men in the UK were also diagnosed with breast cancer.

The cancer, though much less common than breast cancer in women, with only around one new case diagnosed for every 100,000 men in the UK each year, develops in the small amount of breast tissue men have behind their nipples. The most common symptom is a hard, painless lump in one of the breasts.

The following year, around 11,600 women died from breast cancer in the UK, around 32 every day. There were 75 men who also succumbed to the disease.

BACKGROUND

The breasts are made up of fat, connective tissue and thou-sands of tiny mammary glands called lobules, which produce milk. When a woman has a baby, the milk is delivered to the nipple through tiny tubes called ducts, which allow her to breastfeed.

The body is made up of billions of tiny cells, which usually grow and multiply in an orderly way. New cells are only produced when and

where they’re needed. In can-cer, this orderly process goes wrong and cells begin to grow and multiply uncontrollably.

The causes of breast cancer aren’t fully understood, mak-ing it diffi cult to say why one woman may develop breast cancer and another may not. However, there are risk factors that are known to affect your likelihood of developing breast cancer.

Some of these you can’t do anything about, such as age, a family history of breast cancer, previous diagnosis of

breast cancer, a previous be-nign breast lump, breast den-sity, exposure to the female hormone, oestrogen, obesity and alcohol, but small chang-es to your diet may have posi-tive effects on your health (see page 30).

There are several different types of breast cancer, which can develop in different parts of the breast. It is often di-vided into non-invasive and invasive types.

If treated early enough, breast cancer can be prevented from spreading to other parts

of the body. There are a num-ber of symptoms, but the fi rst noticeable symptom is usually a lump or area of thickened breast tissue.

Most breast lumps aren’t can-cerous, but it’s always best to have them checked by your doctor. You should also see your GP if you notice any of the following:• A change in the size or shape of one or both breasts• Discharge from either of your nipples (which may be streaked with blood)• A lump or swelling in either of your armpits• Dimpling on the skin of your breasts• A rash on or around your nipple• A change in the appearance of your nipple, such as becoming sunken into your breast.

Breast pain isn’t usually a symptom of breast cancer.

A full list of factors can be found on the NHS website, but you can make one small change to your daily routine in the meantime.

Get to know your breasts intimately, so you are better equipped to spot changes.

u Breast Cancer Care T: 0207 960 3400 www. Breastcancercare.org.uk

u Macmillan Cancer Support T: 0808 808 00 00 www.macmillan.org.uk

u The Haven – Breast cancer support services T: 0207 384 0099 (London) T: 01432 361 061 (Hereford) T: 0113 284 7829 (Leeds) www.the haven.org.uk

u Cancer Centre London T: 0208 247 3351 www.cancercentrelondon.co.uk

u Breast Cancer UK T: 0808 800 6000 www.breastcanceruk.org.uk

u Look Good Feel Better (LGFB) T: 01372 747 500 www.lookgoodfeelbetter.co.uk

u The London Breast Clinic T: 0207 563 1234 www.thelondonbreastclinic.com

u Bupa Cromwell Hospital – Cancer centre T: 0207 460 5556 www.cromwellhospital.com

u HCA Cancer care T: 0800 29 444 29 www.hcacancercare.co.uk

BREAST CANCER SUPPORTBREAST CANCER SUPPORT

29MARCH 26 - APRIL 1, 2015, THE VOICE | HEALTHM TTERS

A BREAST cancer sup-port charity is launch-ing an interactive new service support-ing women after they

have fi nished breast cancer treatment.

Breast Cancer Care, the only specialist breast cancer support charity working throughout the UK, has found that the emo-tional and physical side effects of a breast cancer diagnosis can continue long after people have fi nished their treatment and when coupled with a lack of specialist support locally, can leave people feeling iso-lated and abandoned.

To help patients receive the tailored support they need, the charity is launching PROWESS, an acronym for Promoting Re-covery, Wellbeing, Equality and Support in Survivorship.

PROWESS offers a unique series of face-to-face sessions over fi ve weeks, which will start in March.

The service will run in Dept-ford, south London, and will give people of all ethnic back-grounds the opportunity to have their specifi c questions and concerns addressed by ex-perts and trained volunteers at informal workshops.

The sessions also offer the chance to talk to someone else

who has had a breast cancer diagnosis and understands how they may be feeling.

Lorraine Marke, from For-est Hill, south London, was diagnosed with breast can-cer almost fi ve years ago and says she wishes the service was

available when she was dealing with the “awful side effects” following hospital treatment.

“I was very upbeat and posi-tive throughout my hospital treatment,” the 52-year-old recalls, “but once it ended the reality of my diagnosis hit me and my mood sunk.”

Marke says once she was dis-charged from hospital, she felt “completely lost” and found it hard adjusting to life again af-ter visiting the hospital weekly for over a year.

“I was struggling to adjust and was dealing with awful

side effects. Though the sup-port of my family and friends was amazing I really wanted to speak to someone who had also been there.”

Marke is now a proud volun-teer for PROWESS and hopes she’ll be able to help others

who fi nd themselves in the same boat as she once did.

“That’s why I’m so happy to be a volunteer at the PROWESS service to help other women diagnosed with breast cancer know they aren’t alone and there is somewhere to turn and people to speak to in their com-munity,” she said.

Ben Langston, Service De-velopment Manager, at Breast Cancer Care, added: “We are very excited to be piloting this brand new service in south London. We know that cancer doesn’t stop after you fi nish

hospital treatment and this free service will provide vital sup-port that’s easy to access in the local community.

“PROWESS will offer infor-mation and guidance on topics such as treatment side effects, healthy lifestyle and hair and skin care, all tailored to the specifi c requests from people in the group.

“Anyone who has fi nished their hospital based treat-ment for breast cancer in the last 12 months is welcome to come along, but sign up soon as places are running out fast.”

The fi rst session will be held on Wednesday, March 11, 2015 from 10am - 2pm at Dept-ford Lounge and will continue weekly.

To book a place or for more information contact Jennifer at Breast Cancer Care on: 020 7960 3424 or email: jennifer.fi nnegan-john@breastcancercare.org.uk

“Shamefully, never. Well, cer-tainly not intentionally. Natu-rally, I’ll touch my boobs when I’m in the shower, but I can’t say I ever make a concerted effort to check myself and in honesty, I’m not sure I’d know how to do it properly or what I’d be looking for. Unless, it was a very obvious lump, I don’t

think I’d suspect anything. My husband has a feel around for me every now and then, but that’s about as far as my check-up goes.”Diane Richards, 30

“I only check if they hurt, but I don’t know what I’m looking for. Also, I’ve lost some weight recently and now my breasts feel different, which makes things even less straightfor-ward. As far as I understand, we have glands in our tissue, so how do you know if you’re feeling a gland or a lump? Honestly, I’m quite ignorant to this.”Sandra Jackson, 38

“I’m ashamed to admit this, but I hardly ever check my breasts. I usually do it follow-ing a visit to the doctor because they normally ask. I know what I’m supposed to be looking for (hard pea-sized lumps), but I’m worried I won’t fi nd them.”Debbie Gibson, 31

“I check mine monthly, just to feel for any changes. Mine hurt occasionally, but I think that’s just because they’re so big and heavy! Because I’m not certain of what exactly I should be checking for, I’ve convinced myself that any change/s will be important enough to get checked out.”Viola Johnson, 42

“I checked them last night ac-tually. I normally check them once a month. I think I’m look-ing for an orange peel kind of texture or lumps and bumps. I’m paranoid. I always think I’m dying.”Anon, 23

“I don’t do it often, but know I’m looking out for lumps, dis-colouring, pigmentation, moles - any changes to the breast” Tash La Rose, 36

“I don’t check. Mines are so small that if there were abnor-malities, I’d know.” Alicia Monroe, 27

“Although I’m in my early 20s, I still think it’s important to be breast aware - especially as I have a family history of breast cancer. I don’t have a particu-lar routine when it comes to checking my breasts, but would say I check them at least two to three times a week. This could be in the shower, before I get dressed or sometimes just be-fore I go to sleep. But what am I looking for?”Rachelle Brown, 24

FIVE YEARS ago, Joyce Connor, founder of award-winning hair and make-up company, Brides and Beauty, made a decision to volunteer for Look Good Feel Better, an international cancer support charity, providing free and practical services for women and teenagers suffering from the visible side effects from cancer treatment.Here, she explains the reason behind her selfl ess decision.

What inspired you to vol-unteer for Look Good Feel Better with all you have on your plate?I saw an article about the charity in a magazine and thought, ‘wow that’s an amazing cause’. I had raised some money for breast cancer awareness just before seeing this article and had also lost a very close friend to cancer. I contacted Look Good Feel Better and haven’t looked back since. I’ve been there for fi ve years now.

Why is it important for women to understand how to use make-up after un-dergoing chemotherapy?During chemotherapy, the skin changes and become very sensitised and dehydrated. This is usually temporary and

the skin will normalise again after treatment. Using make-up during treatment is slightly different to everyday uses.

When women come to you, what kind of mindset are they in? Most women are not feeling their best when they come along to the workshop. They have lost their eyebrows

and lashes and their skin is patchy and dry. All referrals to the Look Good Feel Better workshops are via Macmillan Nurses. Patients at the hospi-tal come to the workshop and there is a waiting list, some women don’t get to come along because the treatment makes them so ill.

What can women expect from a Look Good Feel Better workshop?The workshops run for two hours and there are between 8 and 12 women taking part with up to six volunteers like myself teaching them skincare and make-up.

Black women, in particular, fi nd that their skin may permanently darken after treatment. What would be your top make-up tip for them?The melanin in black skin increases to protect the skin during treatment and it can also make the skin more pho-tosensitive. My top tip is to use a colour corrector on the darker skin areas and then to apply foundation of their nor-mal skin tone over the top to even out the colour.

www.bridesandbeauty.co.uk

Why this top businesswoman devotes her free time to restoring the confi dence of women

who have undergone cancer treatment

You are not alone

Look good, feel better

I was very upbeat and positive

throughout my hospital treatment

GIVING BACK: Lorraine Marke

EXPERT ADVICE: Joyce Connor

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ADVERTORIAL

How often do to you check your breasts and do you know what you’re looking for?

We asked a selection of

black women to share their

habits

Breast Cancer Care launch support service for cancer survivors

| THE VOICE MARCH 26 - APRIL 1, 201530 HEALTHM TTERS

An alternative diet may be particularly useful in the fight against cancerFood for thought

AN ANTI-cancer diet is an im-portant strategy to help reduce your risk of the

disease. Researchers have found that certain foods and drinks may be par-ticularly useful in pro-tecting you from cancer.

GARLICSeveral large studies have found that those who eat more garlic are less likely to develop

various kinds of cancer, espe-cially in digestive organs such as the esophagus, stomach, and colon. Ingredients in the pungent bulbs may keep can-cer-causing substances in your body from working or from multiplying.

BERRIESBerries contain particularly powerful antioxidants, mean-

ing they can halt a naturally occurring process in the body that creates free radicals that can damage your cells. Com-pounds in berries may also

help keep cancers from grow-ing or spreading.

CRUCIFEROUS VEGETABLESCruciferous vegetables, which include broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower, may be particu-larly helpful in protecting you from cancer. Researchers have found that components in this group can protect you from the free radicals that can damage

your cells’ DNA. They may also slow the growth of tumors, and encourage cancer cells to die.

GREEN TEATea contains antioxidants called catechins, which may help prevent cancer in a vari-ety of ways, including keeping free radicals from damaging

cells. Studies have found that catechins in tea can shrink tumors and reduce tumor cell growth. Some - but not all - studies in humans have also linked drinking tea to a lower risk of cancer.

WHOLE GRAINSAccording to the American Institute for Cancer Research, whole grains contain many components that might lower

your risk of cancer, including fiber and antioxidants. A large study of nearly half a million people found that eating more whole grains might lower the risk of colorectal cancer.

TURMERICThis orange-coloured spice, a staple in Indian curries, con-tains an ingredient called cur-

cumin (not to be confused with cumin) that may be useful in reducing cancer risk. Turmer-ic is easy to find in grocery stores, and you can use it in a variety of recipes

LEAFY GREEN VEGETABLESLeafy green vegetables like spinach and lettuce are good sources of the antioxidants be-ta-carotene and lutein. You’ll also find these nutrients in vegetables that are more tra-ditionally eaten cooked, such as kale. Research suggests that chemicals in these foods may limit the growth of some kinds of cancer cells.

GRAPESThe skin of red grapes is a particularly rich source of an antioxidant called resveratrol. Grape juice and red wine also contain this antioxidant. Ac-cording to the National Can-cer Institute, resveratrol may be useful in keeping cancer from beginning or spreading. In men, moderate amounts of

red wine have been linked to a lower risk of prostate cancer.

BEANSSome beans, particularly pinto and red kidney beans, are out-standing sources of antioxi-dants and should be included in your anti-cancer diet. Beans also contain fibre, and eating a high-fibre diet may also help reduce your risk of cancer, ac-cording to the American Can-cer Society.

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