What is a mammogram?
A mammogram is an x-ray of the breast. There are two types of mammograms. A screening mammogram is used to detect breast changes in women who have no signs or symptoms of breast cancer. It usually involves two x-rays of each breast. Mammograms make it possible to detect tumors.
A diagnostic mammogram is an x-ray of the breast used to check for breast cancer after a lump or other sign or symptom of breast cancer has been found. Signs of breast cancer may include pain, skin thickening, nipple discahrge or a change in breast size or shape. A diagnostic mammogram may also be used to evaluate changes found during a screening mammogram, or to view breast tissue when it is difficult to obtain a screening  mammogram because of special circumstances, such as the presence of breast implants.

When should women begin to have mammograms?
The National Cancer Institute (NCI) recommends that women age 40 and older have mammograms every 1 to 2 years.
Women at higher than average risk of breast cancer should talk with their physicians about whether to have mammograms before age 40 and how often to have them.
What are the risk factors?
As a woman gets older, her risk of having breast cancer becomes greater.

The following factors increase a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer:

Personal History.
Women who have had breast cancer are more likely to develop a second breast cancer.

Family History.
A woman’s chance of developing breast cancer is increased if her mother,  sister and/or daughter have a history of breast cancer, particularly if diagnosed before age 50.

Changes seen with breast biopsy.
Women who have had two or more breast biopsies for other benign conditions also have an increased chance of developing breast cancer. This increased risk is due to the condition that led to the biopsy itself.
 
Genetic Alterations/Changes
Specific alterations in certain genes increase the risk of breast cancer. These alterations are rare; they are estimated to account for no more than 10% of all breast cancers.

Reproductive and Menstrual History
Women who began having periods before age 12 or who went through menopause after age 55 are at an increased risk. Women who have their first child after age 30 or who never have a child are at an increased risk.
Long-term Use of Menopausal Hormone Therapy Women who use combination estrogen-progestin menopausal hormone therapy fr more than 5 years have an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Breast Density
Breasts appear dense on a mammogram if they contain many glands and ligaments and do not have a lot of fatty tissue. Because breast cancers tend to develop in the dense breast tissue of the breast, older women whose mammograms show more dense tissue are at an increased risk.

Radiation Therapy
Women who had radiation therapy to the chest (including the breasts) before age 30 are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer throughout their lives.

DES (Diethylstilbesterol)
The drug DES was given to some pregnant women in the US between 1941 and 1971. Those who took DES during pregnancy may have a slightly higher risk.

Body Weight
Studies have found that the chances of getting breast cancer after menopause is higher in women who are overweight.

Physical Activity Levels
Women who are physically inactive throughout life may have an increased risk of breast cancer.

Alcohol
Studies suggest that the more alcohol a woman drinks, the greater her chances of developing breast cancer.

What are the chances that a woman in the United States might get breast cancer?

Age is the most important risk factor for breast cancer. The older a woman is, the greater her chance of developing breast cancer. Current rates suggest that 13.2 percent of
women (or one in eight) born today will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some time in their lives. This statistic is based on population averages.

How Much Does A Mammogram Cost?
 
Screening mammograms usually cost between $50 and $150. Most insurance companies now have laws requiring health insurance companies to reimburse all or part of the cost of screening.

Remember to check your breasts every month!

Travertine tiles are catching up day by day. In residence and commercial establishments, they are desired over others because they are tough, ever going and do not come at a big price. Created in the depths of earth, they are extracted through quarrying, after which they are washed and shined and given a elegant design. Each and every tile reflects a smashing look, and you can put these tiles according to your taste and the blueprint of your sweet home. If you quest for a more not very over the top feel, you can got for the rugged tiles.

Opt simple off-colour tiles if you wish to make the area of your trendy and simple. The sophisticated and modern material has emerged as a cost effective alternative which is highly suitable to your homes and offices. For satisfying various tastes of users a large variety and different colourful styles of these tiles are present in the market.

Easily available in different textures and formats, Travertine tiles are becoming increasingly popular because of the versatility of use they provide. By using various new technologies and methods, we can enable them to have a better overall appearance by providing better finish. In boosting up the sales of these tiles, all the above major reasons came in to light.

Travertine tiles might be employed as a decorative material in numerous portions of your home and offices. In kitchen, these tiles provide an opulent look under the spot lights. These tiles also work very well in the garden. The power of these tiles adds a completely new style to your garden, creating that simple yet stylish outlook.

Further, one does not have to necessarily worry about them once you have installed these tiles, as they are absolutely maintenance free. Still if you take some disaster management work from time to time, it will look spic and span for a pretty long time than you can imagine. To clean them, you can make use of mild non-acidic soap with a sponge and bleach. Just so that your hands remain safe you can cover them up with leather gloves at the time of washing patches from the tiles. Sounds tiring, but the more often you do it, better it is for their surface beauty. The technique of cleaning these tiles is also quite easy and demands less maintenance. For the cleaning of these tiles, you just need a mild non-acidic soap, household bleach, sponge, rubber gloves and a bucket. Always go for soft sponge for cleaning, because using a hard sponge leads to scratches on the tile surface. You can get rid of stains easily by using the home-made bleach solution. If you want to add durability to your tiles then make a regular maintenance regime which will help you in keeping their beauty intact.

They are painful, can last from 4 hours to 5 days and interfere with the everyday development of normal life. Although nobody addresses what exactly causes migraines headaches there still hope for preventing them and even you can get migraine relief in case of incidence by taking a proper treatment. 

Migraines can be attacked from two fronts:

1 – Preventing migraine

2 – Controlling the symptoms

 

Preventing migraine

 

For especially uncomfortable situations when the occurrences of headaches are more than twice a month and interferes with the development of the normal, preventive migraine medication is recommended. Because migraine symptoms and causes vary from patient to patient, there is a variety of medicines that can be prescribed by physician for each patient in particular.

 

One important factor in avoiding migraines is to find out which factors triggers a migraine attack. Probably some of the factors can’t be avoided, but many of then can.  Parameters such as food (canned, smoked, aged and cured meat), sleeping pattern, stress situations, weather conditions, exposure to strong light, sound levels, smells, allergies, medication, exposure to smoke, menstrual cycle, pregnancy, menopause, birth control pills, hormonal replacement therapy  and exercise must be watched.  Exposure to tobacco, caffeine, alcohol and drugs must also be considered in the search for triggers.

 

Specific food restriction proved to be effective instead of a full diet. For example gluten is a major migraine trigger for people suffering from the celiac disease.

Ingesting herbal and nutritional supplements has also proven to be effective, among recommended supplements we can find: Coenzyme Q10, butterbur, feverfew, magnesium citrate, Vitamin B2, Vitamin b12, and melatonin.

 

Stress both physical and psychological is another major triggering factor.  Stress controlling programs and therapy are useful tools against the headaches. It is also believed that a short daily aerobics session is quite helpful for controlling migraines and it’s much appreciated for helping to keep a fit body.  Physical relaxing activities such as yoga, pilates, aqua-gym, swimming, cycling, walking or any kind of activity that gives you pleasure.

 

Controlling migraine

 

Conventional treatment includes a wide variety of medicines: analgesics (aspirins, paracetamol, and ibuprofen), antiemetics (for reducing nausea symptoms and prevent vomiting). Drugstores often offer medicines that combine analgesics with antiemetics drugs for migraine headaches. There are also non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs, anti depressants, serotonin receptor antagonists, ergot derivate, ans steroids drugs. Not all of them are approved by the FDA for migraine treatment.

 

There are also herbal treatments for migraine headaches. Feverfew and cannabis have been used for migraine relief.  Cannabis was the official migraine treatment until the 1940s.

 

Alternate therapies include acupuncture, acupressure, hypnosis, self vision, massage therapy, criotherapy and myofascial release.