
And you thought your relationship to your mother was already complicated. Last year we learned that the size of your mother's hips might affect your risk for breast cancer. Daughters born to mothers with wide hips, according to a
Finnish study, are three times as likely to develop breast cancer.

Funny lady
Ellen DeGeneres is getting serious about breast cancer. Since October is
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, she's recorded a series of phone messages urging women to help themselves fight this disease, the second most lethal kind of cancer affecting women. You can go online and
send phone messages to your friends and family from Ellen that say, "Hi, this is Ellen DeGeneres and (insert your name here) told me to remind you that it's Breast Cancer Awareness Month and you should schedule a check-up with your doctor."

Today marks the first day of
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's a yearly international health campaign organized by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, and cure. When it comes to breast cancer prevention, early detection through monthly self-breast exams and annual mammograms for women over 40 is key.

Who would have thought that the ditsy and carefree character Kelly Bundy in the hit TV show Married . . .

A few weeks ago a study stated that
self-breast exams didn't save lives, but I am not buying it. Many women I know have caught their breast cancer early because they did monthly exams. So if you're still a believer and continue to check yourself monthly, you should be reassured to know that most lumps you find aren't cancerous.