Don't Forget Your Breast Exam!

Breast Cancer Awareness Month will be ending soon. Please remember to complete your Breast Self-Exam (BSE) every month if you are 20 years of age or older. Call your friends and relatives to remind them and remember that breast cancer is not isolated to women alone…men can get it too!

This year, nearly 200,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. This is why it is so important to complete a monthly BSE and have a yearly clinical breast exam performed by a healthcare provider. Yearly mammograms (X-rays of the breasts) are recommended for women over the age of 40 or for women with a family history of breast cancer.

How Can I Reduce My Risk?
• Complete your monthly BSE
• Have a yearly clinical breast exam and/or a mammogram (depending on age and risk factors)
• Eat a low-fat, high fiber diet
• Maintain a healthy weight
• Exercise frequently
• Drink less alcohol

Click here to learn more about breast cancer risk factors.

Oops...my condom broke! What do I do now?

Emergency contraception (EC) is a safe and effective way to prevent pregnancy after unprotected intercourse. It can be started up to five days (120 hours) after unprotected intercourse.
You may want EC if
• The condom broke or slipped off, and he ejaculated in your vagina.
• You forgot to take your birth control pills, insert your ring, or apply your patch.
• He didn't pull out in time.
• You weren't using any birth control.
• You were forced to have unprotected vaginal sex, or were raped.
Emergency contraception is also known as emergency birth control, backup birth control, the morning after pill, and by the brand name Plan B. The most commonly used kind of emergency contraception is Plan B.
How Do I Get Emergency Contraception?
Plan B is available from drugstores and health centers without a prescription for women and men 18 and older, with proof of identification. If you are interested in getting Plan B and are 18 or older, you can either get it directly from a Planned Parenthood health center or from your local drugstore. If you are younger than 18, you'll need to go to a health center or private health care provider for a prescription.
For further information, please contact your local Planned Parenthood of Delaware health center.

What Are Birth Control Pills?

Birth control pills are a kind of medication that women can take daily to prevent pregnancy. They are also sometimes called "the pill" or oral contraception.

How Do Birth Control Pills Work?

It's pretty common for people to be confused about how birth control pills work. Here's what it boils down to: birth control pills are made of hormones. Hormones are chemicals made in our bodies. They control how different parts of our bodies work.

Some birth control pills contain two hormones — estrogen and progestin. These are called combination pills. Some are progestin-only pills. Most women on the pill take combination pills.

The hormones in the pill work by keeping a woman's ovaries from releasing eggs — ovulation. Pregnancy cannot happen if there is no egg to join with sperm. The hormones in the pill also prevent pregnancy by thickening a woman's cervical mucus. The mucus blocks sperm and keeps it from joining with an egg.

Some people say that the pill works by keeping a fertilized egg from attaching to the lining of the uterus. But there is no proof that this actually happens.



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