Call (805) 338-7727 to speak with a licensed insurance agent.

Call (805) 338-7727 to speak with a licensed insurance agent.

Breast Cancer Awareness for Seniors

Posted by Elana Foxx, October 12, 2020

October is breast cancer awareness month, a campaign that aims to educate women on one of the most common forms of cancer they face. Here’s what you need to know about risks, prevention, and detection of breast cancer.

Who is at risk of breast cancer? It’s important to understand that no one is immune from breast cancer. Any woman could develop this disease (and in fact, a small number of men do as well). However, certain factors do increase your risk, such as…

  • You have no children, or had your first child after age 35
  • You have a family history of breast or ovarian cancer
  • You have previously had breast cancer, or experienced abnormalities in your breast tissue such as hyperplasia
  • You have dense breast tissue
  • You smoke, or are exposed to secondhand smoke on a regular basis

More than half of all women with breast cancer are over the age of 60, suggesting that your chances of developing this disease increase as you age.

Luckily, we do know some methods of preventing breast cancer, or at least catching the disease very early. Like other forms of cancer, treatment is more likely to be successful, and full remission more likely, when the disease is detected and treated early. These methods include…

  • Eating a healthy diet and maintaining your recommended weight
  • Not smoking, and avoiding regular exposure to secondhand smoke
  • Exercising regularly
  • Performing regular self-exams, and reporting breast changes to your doctor immediately
  • Undergoing a mammogram every other year
  • Avoiding post-menopausal hormones
  • Consulting regularly with your doctor if you know you fall into a high risk category

 

Some women who are high risk for developing breast cancer can reduce those odds by taking certain medications, called tamoxifen and raloxifene. These medications are not right for everyone, but consultation with your personal physician can help you decide on the right preventive actions.

Need more information on your insurance options?

Contact us online to learn more

Contact Us

Close Accessibility Tools
Accessibility Controls Reset
Content Adjustments
Font Size

Default

Line Height

Default

Content Scaling

Default

Highlight Titles
Highlight Links
Highlight Forms
Align Left
Align Center
Align Right
Focus Mode
Color Adjustments
Desaturate
Monochrome
Contrast

Default

Saturation

Default

Accessibility Statement

Despite our attempts to make this website accessible for everyone, there may still be some pages or sections that are not completely accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or do not have a suitable technological solution to make them accessible. Nevertheless, we are always striving to enhance our accessibility by adding, updating, improving its options and features, and incorporating new technologies.

We want to provide our users with the best experience possible, so we strive to support as many browsers and assistive technologies as possible.

If you wish to contact this website's owner, please use the contact form on the website.

Our User Interface Adjustment Options

Font adjustments - With this tool, users can modify font size, style, letter spacing, and line height for improved alignment and readability.

Color adjustments - Users can customize their color contrast profiles to light, dark, desaturated, and monochrome.

Content highlighting - Users can prioritize key elements such as links, forms, and titles.

Content focus - Users can enable focus mode to highlight the current page information based on their mouse movement.

Close