Breast health is important to every female, but it can become a scary journey for some. If you have just had a mammogram or discovered a lump, cyst, or mass in your breast, panic tends to arise in many women. But I am here to help by sharing three things that I believe can help greatly in the next phase: achieving breast health once again.

Why is Breast Health Important? What to do if you find a Breast Lump?

Breast health is important because if symptoms go undiagnosed or overlooked, they can become a bigger medical issue, the biggest one being breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in American women, apart from skin cancer. There is a 1 in 8 chance that a woman will develop breast cancer in her life, and 1 in 38 chance that she’ll die from it. (1) However, catching it early and seeking medical attention can reduce those risks. Therefore, it is important to get to know your body and take action.

3 Tips on How to Handle Lumps, Cysts, or a Mass in Your Breast

#1. Breath Deep and Understand Your Breast Lump

Although being diagnosed with lumps, cysts, or masses can bring up a lot of anxieties, it is important to take deep breaths and remain calm. The cells in your breasts are always turning and changing, so there can be a lot of explanations as to what could be occurring in your body. Even when it comes to cancerous cells, we can support the health of the cells around it.

Tips on How to Boost Breast Health

Maintain a healthy weight
Exercise as a preventative measure
Eat a healthy and balanced diet
Limit alcohol
Take vitamins especially vitamin D

Recognizing your diagnosis and remaining calm will be essential in moving forward with seeking treatment. If you would like to register for “The Ultimate Guide to Optimal Breast Health” course, you can visit here.

#2. Don’t Delay Your Appointment For A Breast Lump

The second thing that I recommend if you have lumps, cysts, or a mass in your breast is to not delay your appointments or diagnostic testing. In today’s modern world there is plenty of technology that can help us determine on a cellular level what may be going on in your body, such as thermography.

Thermography is a non-invasive test that uses a special camera to measure the temperature of the surface of the breast. This can help with finding cancerous cells, as they grow quickly and increase blood flow which in turn increases the temperature of the skin. (3) This is really important because the sooner you gain awareness and identify what you’re dealing with, the sooner you can determine the most appropriate next steps.

#3. Focus on Your Current Wellness

Another thing to remember is to focus on your current health and maintain gratitude for it. It is important to focus on what is currently happening in your life, and not on the “what if’s” or made-up scenarios. This mindset can boost your overall healing process by keeping your stress hormones lower.

Combining these three tips together while you’re dealing with your diagnosis can make a big and impactful difference to your mental and physical health. In addition, here are some bonus things you can do, even if there is no current diagnosis.

Tips to Help Monitor Breast Health

Monitoring your breast health is a great way to stay aware of what is going on with your body. Here are two ways you can implement it into your routine.

Perform self exams

Regular self-exams can get you to become familiar with your body and allow you to spot any changes that occur. It is important to do a self-exam at the same time that you are on your menstrual cycle as there are often some normal changes that happen. Doing these exams once a month can be extremely beneficial and help you more quickly determine if there is anything that needs a closer look. (4)

Get mammograms

Annual mammograms are generally recommended for women who are 40 and over. This testing is important especially if you have dense breast tissue as it could be hard to see any potential tumors that may have occurred. There are exceptions for some women that may result in getting mammograms earlier in life, particularly ones that have a history of breast cancer in their families.

As a naturopathic physician I highly encourage all of my patients to dive deep into their concerns to get to the root cause in order to reach their optimal health. I hope these tips bring you some value and peace, especially to those who are experiencing cysts, masses, or lumps. If you are interested in learning more about breast health, you can sign up for my breast health email help list here.

There are an assortment of natural ways for you to enhance your breast health. Specifically, breast massage, breast detoxing and enhancing the turnover of your breast cells is key. I’ve created a very detailed Breast Health Course that you can gain valuable resources and tutorials on how to reduce breast tumors, cysts and fibroids.