Fooling with your future -
[Cached Version]
Published on: 7/2/2002
Last Visited: 2/14/2003
Not having regular mammograms is just as foolish, said Shari Blattner, manager of Oak Ridge Breast Center.It's recommended that women have mammograms semiannually between the ages of 40 and 49 and annually after age 50."We've got all this technology out here where we can catch it early, but it doesn't catch it if you don't come in," Ms. Blattner said."Don't wait until you feel something."But in case you can feel something, perform monthly self-exams on your breasts - and if they hurt, she said, check your caffeine intake.Caffeine can cause fibroids, painful growths in the breasts."We have people coming in complaining that their breasts hurt, and they drink five or six Cokes a day," Ms. Blattner said.Replace those with milk, she said, and supplement that with other sources of calcium."We have people coming in who have osteoporosis - it's no wonder!"Ms. Blattner said."They don't drink milk.They don't eat green vegetables. ... There's going to come a time when you can't reverse the damage that's been done."