Ladies and gentlemen, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! Breast Cancer is a cause that I am very passionate about, mainly because a lot of the women that surround me, have been through this battle. I believe that if we can make ourselves aware of possible signs, we can prevent the worst. Early detection of breast and ovarian cancer is key. But many of us are not sure where to even begin and that’s why I’ve partnered with the national non-profit organization, Bright Pink who is focused on prevention and early detection.
The Quiz
Bright Pink inspires women to make behavior changes that can greatly improve their lives. In 2013, Bright Pink launched the first-ever, digital, interactive, consumer-facing breast and ovarian risk assessment tool, Assess Your Risk. Since then, more than one million women have learned about their risk for breast and ovarian cancer by completing the 19 question assessment quiz.
This month, I’m urging you to take 5 minutes to take this Assess Your Risk quiz so you can learn about your personal cancer risk and create a preventative action based on your results. This could be something like exercising more, remembering to visit your healthcare provider at least once a year for a full physical and even practicing self-awareness at home by checking your breast every month and knowing the signs of what is normal or not and following up with your doctor if there were an abnormality .
My Results
I personally took the Bright Pink Assess Your Risk and my results came back average for both, breast and ovarian cancer. With having a risk of 12-20% chance for breast cancer and 2-5% ovarian cancer. Some of the factors that came back to why my breast cancer percentage is higher are, Low Vitamin D, Night Shift Work (although I don’t really work nights, I believe that my flying schedule and being in different time zones affects me in this area), and sugar. This is definitely an eye opener and I know I have to make some changes to my lifestyle. Like exercising at least 30 minutes a day, making better choices when it comes to food and one that I probably struggle with the most, is getting enough sleep. I do plan on talking to my healthcare provider as soon as possible about risk reduction and screening options to improve my breast and ovarian health. Because I want to be healthy not just for myself but also for my family.
Our Actions
I truly believe that the more you know, the better prepared you are to take actions that can help reduce your risk. Make sure to visit this website to assess your personal risk level for breast and ovarian cancers. The sooner you know what level you fall in the faster you can start taking control and start making those lifestyle changes.
I want to hear what lifestyle changes you plan to make after taking the quiz. Let me know below and let’s all make some lifesaving impacts this Breast Cancer Awareness month!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Bright Pink. The opinions and text are all mine.