Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Week 2

Thanks for joining me for Week 2 of this series! Let’s get into some things we can do to lower our exposure to carcinogens and hormone disruptors as well as ways to lock in self exams as a monthly habit:

What can I do at home?

☢️ Ditch your toxic cleaning products — and that includes laundry detergent!! The Environmental Working Group is a wonderful resource to help navigate safer choices on that front, and Clearya is another good option to vet products for safety.

☢️ Take off your shoes before entering your house to avoid tracking in oils and chemicals from the streets/yards outside. (A related, not-so-fun fact: Your shoes get dirtier than a toilet seat just from picking up fecal matter outside. 💩 YUCK.)

☢️ Avoid plastics whenever possible, especially when they are being heated up (think microwave, dishwasher, etc.), opting for dishes made with materials like glass or silicone instead. (Looking for good alternatives for kids’ dinnerware? Here are a few finds!)

☢️ When you can, choose organic produce and hormone-free animal products to limit your exposure to pesticides, herbicides, and growth hormones.

☢️ Using teflon pots and pans? Change that up for sure! Non-stick cookware has been linked to cancer.

☢️ Switch to safer cosmetics and personal care products. (We talked about this last week…)

Monthly Self Checks

We all know that breast self exams are such an important part of our personal healthcare routine, but are you consistent about performing self-checks, and do you know what to look for and feel for when you do? (I know I can definitely use some work in this area! Are you in the same boat?)

⏰ If you have trouble remembering to your self checks them, you can try putting a recurring reminder on your calendar for the first of every month to give you a nudge. (This really is SO important, so finding a trigger to help you remember to perform a check monthly is worth it.)

⏰ You can also try to remember to do your self check on the first day of your period each month, and let that be your reminder.

⏰ You could even partner with a buddy and text each other a reminder to do your self checks monthly. After all, friends help friends prevent breast cancer! No matter what, just find a system that sticks with you and allows you to be consistent.

Unsure of what to look for during a self-exam? This three-minute video explains the process in detail.

For this week’s giveaway entry, let me know what your trigger is or is going to be to help you remember to perform monthly self checks! Enter by replying to the email that sent you to this post.

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