The Best of Everything After 50: The Experts' Guide to Style, Sex, Health, Money, and More

The Best of Everything after 50 provides top-dollar advice in an affordable format. When Barbara Grufferman turned fifty, she wanted to know how to be—and stay—a vibrant woman after the half-century mark. She went in search of a “What to Expect” book, but couldn’t find one. So she consulted New York City’s leading doctors, personal trainers, hair stylists, fashion gurus, and financial planners including:• Diane Von Furstenberg on the right fashion choices
• Laura Geller and Carmindy on makeup tips
• Dr. Patricia Wexler on the best skin care regimen
• Frederic Fekkai on haircare
• Jane Bryant Quinn on financial concerns
• Julie Morgenstern on organizing your life

Biography

I wrote "The Best of Everything After 50: The Experts' Guide to Style, Sex, Health, Money and More" because I wanted to be the best I could be after 50. I've had the good fortune to become a weekly columnist for AARP, front-page contributor for Huffington Post, Chief Pundit for FOF (FabOverFifty), and advisor and on-air contributor to Growing Bolder Media.

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7 WAYS TO KEEP WOMEN BREASTS HEALTHY

When it comes to young women and breast cancer, there's good news and bad news. The good: Their chances of having the disease are much lower than an older woman's. The bad: If cancer does strike, it can be more aggressive, says Debra Mangino, M.D., of New York's Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

But a healthy lifestyle can help protect your breasts. These are the changes and early-detection methods experts say are key:



1. Stay at a healthy weight
Being heavy can increase your risk of developing the disease as well as reduce your risk of surviving it, says Harold Freeman, M.D., president and founder of the Ralph Lauren Center for Cancer and Prevention in New York City.



2. Break a sweat
Aim to exercise for 45 minutes to an hour five days a week. Regular fitness workouts may help prevent the disease by boosting immune function, warding off obesity, and lowering levels of estrogen and insulin.



3. Drink less alcohol
Research has shown that two drinks a day could increase breast cancer risk by 21 percent. Instead, try swapping wine for fresh grapes. Resveratrol, found in the skin of grapes, may help reduce your estrogen levels, which in turn may reduce your risk.



4. Eat your veggies
A low-fat diet can do a lot to reduce your risk, but for even more protection, add some cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli and kale, to your plate. They contain sulforaphane, which is believed to help prevent cancer cells from multiplying. For an extra dose of cancer-fighting power, eat them raw.



5. Know your family history
"In about 15 percent of breast cancer cases, there is a family history of the disease," Freeman says. If you have one first-degree relative who had breast cancer, your lifetime risk doubles, and if you have two your risk increases five-fold.

 6. Get checked
All women should have a clinical breast exam at least every three years and annual exams and mammograms starting at age 40. Women with a family history should begin screening 10 years prior to the family member's age of diagnosis. Ask if the facility offers digital mammography--it allows for adjustments in contrast so the image can be easier to see. Young women at increased risk may also want to ask for either an MRI or a sonogram in addition to the mammogram.


7. Consider genetic testing
"When cancer strikes young women, it's more likely to be connected to a BRCA mutation," Mangino says. Two red flags for being a BRCA carrier: being of Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jewish descent or having a family history of both breast and ovarian cancer. "If you have either of these factors, see a genetic counselor to talk about getting tested," she says.

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6 Breast Cancer Symptoms that Most Women Don't Know About

By Lisa Fayed

Breast that is warm to the touch:
A breast that always feel warm, sometimes hot to the touch is a symptom of inflammatory breast cancer, a dangerous and rare type od the disease.

Flat or inverted nipple:
A nipple that is flat or inverted is also a symptom of breast cancer. This does not include having an inverted nipple since birth.

A breast that is often itchy:
If you have itchy breasts or nipples, talk to your doctor. These are both symptoms of breast cancer.

The skin around the breast is dimpled or looks like an orange peel:
Breast and surrounding skin can take on a dimpled appearance, looking like an orange peel. Many women are too embarassed to show a doctor, thinking it is cellulite or from being overweight. This is not the case.
Swollen or breast that does not change with menstrual cycle or size increase:
It's normal for a woman's breast to become swollen and tender during a normal menstrual cycle, but when it's constant, it need to be evaluated by a doctor. Women also need to be aware of a sudden breast size increase.

Breast that is red or blotchy:
A breast that is red or blotchy, even having a rash-like appearance should be evaluated by a doctor. It is a symptom of inflammatory breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is a type of cancer that is often undected by a mammogram and self breast exam.

What is Inflammatory Breast Cancer?

Inflammatory breast cancer is a rare type of invasive breast cancer that spreads very quickly to other parts of the body. It normally occurs in younger women when compared to other types of breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer is sometimes called IBC, for short.

Inflammatory breast cancer occurs when breast cancer cells block the lymph vessel in the breast.
Symptoms of Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Inflammatory breast cancer symptoms include:
a. a breast that feels warm to the touch
breast that looks red
b. swollen breast
c. dimpling of the skin on and/or around the breast

Causes of Inflammatory Breast Cancer
It was once believed that IBC was causes by an infection, however this theory has been dismissed. IBC forms when breast cancer cells invade and block the lymph vessel, not allowing fluid to flow. This is why women with IBC have such appearance altering symptoms.
Diagnosing Inflammatory Breast Cancer
Women usually see their doctor when they begin to experience symptoms of IBC. Unfortunately, it can be mistaken for mastitis, a breast infection, and proper diagnosis is delayed. It is recommended that if you are being treated for mastitis and the condition does not get better after a week of anti-biotic, then IBC screening should be considered.

A breast biopsy is usually the first step in diagnosing inflammatory breast cancer. If a biopsy confirms IBC, then additional tests will be ordered to determine if and how much the disease has spread.
Inflammatory Breast Cancer Treatment
Treatment of IBC includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

Surgical treatment for IBC is a mastectomy of the affected breast. Chemotherapy is usually done prior to a mastectomy with IBC.

After surgery, radiation therapy is performed to reduce the risk of recurrence.

Source:

1. National Cancer Insitute. Inflammatory Breast Cancer Fact Sheet; May 6, 2003.
2. Mayo Clinic.com. Inflammatory Breast Cancer; February 3, 2006

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