2009 Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Beyond Yoga, one of my favorite brands of fitness clothes, is offering some unique pink products. The company is donating 30 percent of the proceeds from the sale of these I Am Beyond . . . Hopeful water bottles ($36) and its Lift and Support Bra ($64) to the Women's Cancer Research Fund. Every sale will support research, education, and outreach for the early diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of female cancers. A minimum of $4 will be donated for every water bottle sold, and a $10 donation will be made for every bra sold.

To hear more about these products and see some other photos, keep reading

Teaching at a yoga studio means I meet a lot of free-spirited folks. One student told me she stopped wearing underwire bras because she heard they can lead to breast cancer. This idea has been circling around that wearing a bra all day compresses the lymphatic system of the breast, resulting in accumulation of toxins that cause breast cancer. Just about every woman I know wears a bra, and most opt for the ones with supportive underwires, so are we all at risk?

To find out read more

Supporting your girls with a great sports bra is important for your workouts, especially jumping plyometrics. When you hit 40, you're going to need to take photos of them too. Yep, I'm talking about a mammogram. This soft tissue x-ray is recommended annually for every woman over 40, and if you are at risk for breast cancer (if your mother or sister has had it, for instance), you start the process at 35.

The procedure is actually pretty simple and quick, but there is a lot of smooshing of breast tissue involved. So it's good to go into the process with a sense of humor and to check your modesty at the door. Here are a few pointers to make your first mammogram as pain-free as possible.

• Do not wear deodorant, perfume, or powder. These substances can interfere with the imaging of breast tissue and even show up on the mammogram as calcifications, which can alarm the radiologist reading your mammogram, rendering more images necessary. This translates directly into more squishing.
• Wear separates to the appointment, so you only have to take off your top and not fully disrobe.
• If you have long hair, wear it up. This way your long locks won't interfere with the machinery and you won't accidentally have your hair pulled.
• Avoid wearing necklaces or dangling earrings. Or simply take them off and stow them while you are having the mammogram.

A standard mammogram is four images, two per breast. If you have breast implants, double the number of images needed. At your first mammogram, sometimes extra images are needed to get a better understanding of the baseline reading of your breast tissue. At some offices, the radiologist will read the mammogram while you wait, so you get the results immediately, which seriously decreases the stress of the entire operation. However, some clinics will send the results to your primary care physician. In that case, remember to call your doc for results.

When someone in your life tells you that they have been diagnosed with breast cancer, it's difficult to know how to respond or the best way to help. Glamour and Bright Pink, a nonprofit support group for women with breast and ovarian cancer, offered these helpful tips on how to make the conversation easier:

1. Don't try to guess what she wants — ask how can you help. Some women may want a special girls' night in, while others may need a friend to go with her to doctor's appointments.
2. Don't burden her with your sadness. She's carrying the weight of her own fear and grief, try not to give her yours as well — she needs all the strength you can offer.

There are more tips, so keep reading.

Every October, retailers around the world sell products designed to raise money and awareness for breast cancer charities. Décor products certainly fall into this category, too. The problem is that while seeing a plethora of pink ribbon-branded items in retailers left and right may catch your eye, most products don't necessarily inspire you to decorate your homes with these items year-round. So I was excited to see some chic pink products that I'd certainly purchase regardless of the campaign.

First, Williams-Sonoma Home will donate $10 from the purchase of every Pink Solid Cashmere Throw ($298) this month to support breast cancer research and patient treatment. You can choose between a light or hot pink 50-by-65-inch fringed throw.

To see some more breast cancer awareness décor products, read more

Although the incidence of breast cancer in women is considerably higher than in men, a recent news story reminds us all that this cancer affects men too. About 2,000 men are diagnosed with breast cancer annually, so when 40 men who all lived on the Marine base Camp Lejeune at some point in their lives were diagnosed with breast cancer, one has to think environmental factors played a part in their developing the disease.

Forty former US Marines or sons of Marines, who lived at Camp Lejeune between 1960 and 1980, have all been diagnosed with the disease. One 39-year-old man diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago blames contaminated water on the Marine base for his cancer. Although government reports do show that the water there was contaminated for those three decades, the military stands by two independent reports that find no link between the tainted water and the men's illnesses. Senators from North Carolina, where Camp Lejeune is located, are investigating the issue further.

These cases remind us that only one in 10 cases of breast cancer occurs in women with a genetic predisposition for the disease. Environmental factors are real, and it's important to pay attention to chemicals in cosmetics and cleaning products.