Alcohol
What is alcohol?
Alcoholic beverages include a wide variety of drinks that are readily available. Some have higher alcohol content than others, but none are safe to drink excessively.
Alcoholic beverages include:
- Beer
- Hard Liquor (Rum, Vodka, Gin, etc.)
- Wine, Wine Coolers, and Champagne
- Liqueurs (Kahlua, Irish Crème, etc.)
- Mixed drinks (Rum and Coke, etc.)
- "Hard" Lemonade & Malt Beverages
- "Non–Alcoholic" Beer (it still contains alcohol)
Consuming Alcohol is risky for women.
- Body structure and chemistry cause women to absorb more alcohol and take longer to break it down and remove it than men. So, the effects of alcohol occur quicker and last longer, which weakens the women’s defenses against alcohol’s long–term effects.
- Drinking alcohol increases the risk of liver disease, infertility, brain shrinkage, heart damage, breast cancer and sexual assault.
- Alcohol suppresses the part of the brain that controls judgment, resulting in a loss of inhibitions, physical coordination, blurred vision, slurred speech and loss of balance.
Excessive drinking has been linked to:
- Vitamin deficiency
- Sexual problems
- Muscle disease
- Obesity
- Infertility
- Skin problems
- Inflammation of the pancreas
Cutting Down
If you think you might be drinking too much, try keeping a "drinking diary" to keep track of how much you drink each week.
Tips for Instructor:
Help participant understand that alcohol (beer, wine, wine coolers, and hard–liquor) impairs the body and can severely disrupt fetal development.
Breast Self–Exam
Why Perform a Breast Self–exam?
- The sooner lumps are detected the better. When breast cancer is found early, the five–year survival rate is 96%.
- You never know who it will affect. More than 80% of women diagnosed with breast cancer do not have it in their family history.
- Women know their breasts better than any doctor, which makes them more likely to detect something unusual.
- Statistics are scary. Breast cancer accounts for one in every three cancer diagnoses in the U.S. One in eight American women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some time in their lives.
- Early detection and treatment are the best ways to combat breast cancer.
What are the Symptoms to Look for?
- A hard lump or thickening in any part of the breast.
- Any changes in the skin or appearance of the breast such as swelling, redness, dimpling, or dryness around the nipple.
- Pain or sudden change in breast size
- Newly inverted or flattened nipple
- Discharge from the nipple
Who is Most at Risk?
- Women with an abnormal or complex reproductive history.
- Women with a family history of breast cancer.
- Women that are 50 years old or older.
- Everyone is at some risk because breast cancer is the most common cancer among women.
