< previous page | page_332 | next page >
Page 332
| Consider joining a support group. Although this is not for everyone, it can bring you in touch with others who are going through similar situations. |
| Seek a second opinion if you have any doubts at all about the advice you receive; this goes for holistic practitioners as well as conventional doctors. |
| If you have a mastectomy and decide to have breast reconstruction, be sure to explore all options currently available; choose an experienced doctor and ask how many surgeries will be required to complete the process. |
| Be sure to have your husband/partner involved as an integral part of your healing process. Even though you must make all the final decisions about treatment yourself, it is important to have someone who is close to share in the many experiences you will encounter along the way. Know that love is the greatest healer. |
| Most important, use your heart, mind, and spirit to direct and guide you in your choicesand never look back. |
| Once a woman has done her homework and made her decisions, she must feel comfortable with the course of action to be taken. If she opts for allopathic (conventional) therapies, there are still many choices to be made. Whatever a patient's decision, if she decides on the allopathic mode, I try to complement and enhance the therapies that have been chosen. |
| Fibrocystic Breast Disease And Cancer |
| Proliferative benign breast disease, also referred to as fibrocystic breast disease (FBD), particularly when associated with atypia, places women at increased risk of developing breast cancer. However, not all women diagnosed with fibrocystic breast disease will develop breast cancer. FBD is characterized by the formation of benign breast cysts that are enlarged during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. |
| Fibrocystic breast disease may be caused by: |
| Excess estrogen or too little progesterone during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. |
| Caffeine, theophylline, and theobromine, found in coffee, tea, and chocolate. |
| Hypothyroid/iodine deficiency. |
< previous page | page_332 | next page >

If you like this book, buy it!