October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and in honor of this occasion South Jersey Radiology Associates (SJRA) and Have Sippy Will Travel would like to remind everyone the importance of getting a mammogram. It is an unfortunate fact that many women shy away from regular mammograms for various reasons some of which include: fear of radiation and fear of the dreaded call back.

Research shows that women tend to overestimate the amount of radiation used during mammography. The dose of radiation associated with digital mammography is also significantly lower, on average 22% lower, than that of conventional film mammography. This is especially true for women with larger and denser breasts.

False positives and call backs for more tests are another big fear but with new technologies, specifically 3D mammography, also called tomosynthesis, it is more accurate at finding cancer then traditional mammography. Using 3d mammography reduces call backs by up to 15% especially among younger women and those with dense breast tissue.
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It’s an honor to care for the person who cared for you. Taking care of an older parent can mean anything from handling their bills, to helping them with meals, to driving them to appointments, and more. Juggling all of those roles can be tough, but Father’s Day reminds us why we do it.

My grandfather struggled with a degenerative disease, and my grandmother had to assume a lot of the responsibility of taking care of him. Luckily, we had a large family who lived close by and were able to help, and being young and in college I was able to be at her “beck and call” so to speak- only a call or a page (yes, I’m old) away when she needed me.  Most of the responsibility fell on her, which was hard since she was older herself and also didn’t know how to deal with the rapid progression of the disorder.

Across the country 42 million people, primarily women, between the ages 40 – 60 are faced with the challenge of providing care to their older loved ones each and every day. They may not know it, but they are caregivers, and they play an extraordinary role in supporting those we love.
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