Worry About Heart Disease

Filed in archive Heart and Stroke on February 11, 2007

Since my mother had breast cancer, and other members of my family were victims of various types of cancer, that has always been my biggest worry when it comes to my health. But, according to an article from the Mayo Clinic on Women's Health, cancer shouldn't be a woman's biggest worry. The Mayo Clinic article tells us:

Do you worry excessively about developing breast or ovarian cancer? Your anxiety may be misplaced. Although these cancers can cut your life short, your risk of having either one is far lower than is your risk of having - and dying of - cardiovascular disease.

That's not to say you should forgo regular mammograms or ignore symptoms that may suggest ovarian cancer, particularly if you have a high-risk family history. But it does mean you might benefit from a realistic appraisal of your true health risks - if only to put your mind at ease. Better still, understanding your top health risks is the first step toward reducing them.

The article goes on to list the eight major causes of death for women. The final section explains how to put it all into perspective and get some of that load of worry off our shoulders.