Fall Prevention in the Home
Falling carries an increasing risk as we age, so for this year’s Healthy Aging Month, we’d like to talk about fall prevention in your home.
Breast Cancer Awareness Month Checklist
In this post:
As Breast Cancer Awareness Month comes to a close this snowy and rainy October, it’s a good time to reflect on the actions you’ve taken for your own breast health. Breast cancer is most easily treated when it is caught early, so it’s important to get screened, but that isn’t the only thing you can do. Lowering your risk of breast cancer is also important, and you can work on that by making healthy lifestyle choices that will serve you well in the long run for more just your breasts.
For more information about breast cancer, symptoms, screenings, and risk factors, check out our last breast cancer awareness post here. Otherwise, read on for your breast health checklist!
Whether you’re concerned for your own health or that of your loved ones, this simple list should help guide you through your preventive breast health journey.
- Learn your immediate, biological family health history – has your mother, sister, aunt, or grandmother ever had breast or ovarian cancer? Does anyone have a BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation?
- Find out what kind of coverage you have for a mammogram or other breast cancer screening test. Does your insurance cover it in full? Do you need to enroll in the Alaska Breast & Cervical Screening Assistance Program?
- Schedule a mammogram
- Understand your mammogram results
- If your mammogram says you have dense breasts or any abnormalities, schedule a follow-up with your healthcare provider to discuss what this means for you
- Become physically active (if you aren’t already!)
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Reduce your alcohol consumption
- Quit smoking
We always recommend reaching out to your primary care doctor (that’s us at ICHC!) for your preventive health screening needs. We can help you find out where to go, explore your coverage options, enroll you in assistance programs, coordinate transportation or translation services if needed, and explain your results and any next steps to you. If you also need cervical cancer screening, we can provide that too!
Mammograms in Fairbanks are completed by the Breast Cancer Detection Center and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital. We can place an order to either facility, or you can call Breast Cancer Detection Center directly, but you’ll still need a primary care provider to explain the results to you.
To schedule an appointment with your doctor at Interior Community Health Center, call 907-455-4567, option 1.
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