Are you a woman with a busy schedule?

As chief caretaker, taxi driver, scheduler and employee, it can be difficult to carve out time for yourself. This month is Women’s Health Month, and the Abramson Cancer Center wants to remind you to schedule some time to keep yourself healthy.

Schedule a Mammogram

The mammogram is still the most important screening test in detecting breast cancer, and is thought to save thousands of lives a year. Beginning at 40, women should have mammograms annually – depending on the woman’s heredity and risks, her physician may suggest starting annual screenings even earlier than 40.

Know Your Risk for Ovarian Cancer

With 1 in 57 women in the United States developing ovarian cancer in their lifetime, it is the deadliest cancer in women and the 5th leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women.

The risk of developing ovarian and other certain types of cancer is greatly increased for women and men with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation. Through expert genetic counseling, education, and long term care at the Mariann and Robert MacDonald Cancer Risk Evaluation Center, men and women can learn if they have a mutation putting them at greater risk.

For women and men with a BRCA gene mutation, the Basser Research Center for BRCA can help them learn more about their risk, and ways in which they can prevent cancer.

Consider the HPV Vaccine for Your Daughters (and Sons)

Genital human papillomavirus, commonly known as HPV, is the most common sexually transmitted virus in the United States, and can cause cervical cancer – the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women around the world.

Both forms of the HPV vaccine, Gardasil and Cervarix, are approved for girls and boys between the ages of 9 to 26, and is given in a three-dose series over the course of eight months. The vaccine does not cure a current HPV infection, therefore it should be administered before the girl or boy is sexually active.

Screen for Cancer

The best defense against cancer is often times detecting the disease in its earliest stages, before symptoms are present. Some of the cancer screening tests we recommend are:

Cervical cancer screenings no later than 21-years-old, or three years after becoming sexually active.

• Pap tests should be done:
• Every 1-2 years for women under 30
• Every 2-3 years for women ages 30-70, if they have three normal test results in a row
• Women over 70 who have had three or more normal Pap tests in a row and no abnormal results in the last 10 years may choose to stop having Pap tests.
• Clinical breast exams every three years for women in their 20s and 30s
• Yearly mammograms for women beginning at age 40
• At age 50, follow a testing schedule for polyps and cancer

How do you stay healthy? Are you up to date on your screenings and exams? 

Find a Penn Primary Care Physician who can help you stay on top of your health here.

Elucidating the origin of and dynamic interrelationship between intratumoral cell subpopulations has clear clinical significance in helping to understand the cellular basis of treatment response, therapeutic resistance, and tumor relapse. Cancer stem cells (CSC), together with clonal evolution driven by genetic alterations, generate cancer cell heterogeneity commonly observed in clinical samples. The 2013 Shanghai International Symposium on Cancer Stem Cells brought together leaders in the field to highlight the most recent progress in phenotyping, characterizing, and targeting CSCs and in elucidating the relationship between the cell-of-origin of cancer and CSCs. Discussions from the symposium emphasize the urgent need in developing novel therapeutics to target the constantly evolving CSCs. Cancer Res; 1–6. ©2014 AACR.

Jessica Bemis is a full-time, working mom of two who lost her husband to testicular cancer in November 2011. Since then, Jessica has been sharing her story on her blog, Hope for Young Widows and working to bring awareness and hope to women and men who have lost their spouses to cancer.

Dating after the death of a spouse can be an awkward experience. It can bring out feelings of guilt or betrayal in the widow or widower. It can also bring out feelings of confusion and concern from friends, family and those who were close to the deceased spouse.

I started dating again about a year after my husband died. It had been 11 years since I had been with anyone other than my husband. I took the year after his death to learn how to deal with being thrown into the full-time roles of parent, homemaker, animal caregiver, appointment scheduler, and child activity manager, as well as the sole financial provider.

It was exhausting, and dating was not at the top of my mind. When I knew I was ready to start to date again, I had frank discussions with my children about going on without their dad. I assured them that while there is a part of me that will always love their dad, it would be unrealistic to think I would live my life alone and sad. I have shown them that life is for living and we will continue to do just that.

There is no specific time period one should wait before dating again. The right amount of time to grieve is different for everyone, and at some point, a person just needs to be allowed to be happy again. Some people take years, others take weeks, and then there are those who choose never to date again. If a person was terminally ill, and the illness took a long time to run its course, the widowed person may have done a lot of grieving prior to the actual death and might be ready to date earlier than the “experts” predict. My husband was told he would be lucky to live two years post diagnosis. He survived 18 months after diagnosis. From the moment we got the news about my husband’s survival expectancy, I went into functioning like a single parent and we worked on getting things in order. But I also know that everyone is different.

Ready to Date Again

When I felt ready to at least test the dating waters, my girlfriends and I created an online dating profile for myself. I really didn’t want to go this route, but it seemed like the right thing to do to meet people in my age bracket. I went on two dates before I realized this was not the avenue for me to try and find a loving relationship. I decided I would just have fun with my girlfriends, children and enjoy my time to myself.

For me, learning to date became more about doing the things I enjoy and the hope of meeting someone while doing those things…for example, going to sporting events, running 5k’s, seeing movies, touring museums, and taking cooking classes. I learned that by doing the things I enjoy I might meet someone special. And, one evening at a Phillies game, I was very lucky to meet a wonderful man, who has become very special to me.

Once you to start dating someone special, it is important to defend your date when your friends and family learn you are dating again, there is the possibility they may not treat this new person in your life very well. The mistreatment may come in the form of a cold shoulder at family activities or constantly talking about the deceased person in front of the date. If you have family and friends who are doing this, they need to be told privately, but in a loving manner, that this behavior is not acceptable. If you wouldn’t let your family and friends treat your spouse that way, why would you tolerate that behavior toward someone else-especially when your date could become your future spouse? Your date needs and deserves to feel special. Treat your date in such a way that he or she feels like they are with someone who’s ready to move on. No one should have to compete with a spouse who has passed away.

I believe dating gives you the opportunity to open your heart to another person and the chance to experience the unique and exquisite joy that comes with falling in love again. It’s okay to talk about your deceased spouse, but set boundaries. Answer questions he or she may have about your marriage, but don’t spend all your time talking about your deceased spouse, or how happy you were with him. After all, your date is the one who’s here now. And, he or she might make you incredibly happy for years to come. Showing genuine interest in your date and getting to know his or her wants, interests and dreams go a long way towards starting a new life with someone else.

Part of the reason we are here is to live and enjoy life. And dating is a great way to start living again.

Ultraviolet lamps used to dry and harden polished nails may pose a very low risk of skin cancer, new research shows.

People with cancer experience varying types of loss — of their health, of body parts, of freedom. Is there a way to practice for the losses that really matter? Susan Gubar asks in this week’s Living With Cancer column.