Flu Shots & Breast Cancer Awareness
FLU SHOTS
It’s that time…we know it’s been brutally hot and does not feel like fall, but it’s time to get your flu shot! We recommend everyone get flu shots unless you are allergic to eggs or had a reaction to flu shots in the past. We keep a quadravalent (4 strains of the virus) flu shot in our office and it is good for ages 3 and up. The vaccine DOES NOT give people the flu as there is no live flu virus in it. If you get sick after a flu shot it is because you were exposed to a virus already somewhere. Flu shots are usually about 50 to 60% effective year to year as infectious disease specialists try to predict which strains might be breaking out each season. The shot can really lower your risks for infection and lesson your symptoms if you do get the flu.
So, we highly recommend getting those flu shots. All our physicians and staff get them every year and haven’t grown any horns yet.
BREAST CANCER AWARENESS Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women, except for skin cancers. This means that 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Unfortunately, about every 2 minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. This year, an estimated 41,760 women will die from breast cancer in the U.S. The good news is that we have seen a gradual reduction in female breast cancer rates among women age 50 and older. Death rates from breast cancer have been declining due to better screening with early detection, increased awareness, and ever improving treatment options. Mammograms play a key role in early breast cancer detection and help decrease breast cancer deaths. At age 40 women of average risk should have the choice to start annual breast cancer screening with mammograms if they wish to do so. Experts don't agree on specific age or timing for mammograms, so talk to your doctor about what is best for you.