Multiple Sclerosis

A Mother’s Influence: Treating MS is Personal for Dr. Jameson Holloman

Jameson Holloman, MD, a BJC Medical Group neurologist at Missouri Baptist Medical Center, had a different challenge.
When he was in fourth grade, his mother, Karen, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Healthy Living

All in the Family

Cancer can feel like it comes out of nowhere, but sometimes the warning signs are in your DNA. About 10–20% of cancers run in families, passed down through inherited genetic mutations that increase the risk of developing certain cancers.

Healthy Living

Let’s Talk: Conversations With Your Doctor That Can Protect Your Health

When it comes to protecting your health, one of the most powerful tools is conversation. Open, honest communication with your primary care provider (PCP) can lead to earlier diagnoses, faster treatment, and better long-term outcomes.

Patient Story

Keeping a Close Eye, From Far Away: How Remote Aneurysm Surveillance Helped a Patient in Rolla, Missouri

When Berdie Kirby, 68, needed ongoing monitoring and specialized care for a life-threatening aortic condition, frequent trips from her home in Rolla, Missouri, to St. Louis, a journey of more than two hours, was sometimes challenging. But thanks to Missouri Baptist Medical Center’s Telemedicine Aortic Surveillance Clinic, Berdie was able to receive expert, ongoing care without long-distance travel.

Patient Story

Living and Thriving With MS: Ashley Gennero’s Path to Advocacy

After first hiding diagnosis, MS Center for Innovations in Care patient found voice

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Breast Self-Exam: How To

Breasts come in all sizes and shapes, just as women do. Your own breasts will even change throughout your life. Your monthly menstrual cycle and menopause, childbirth, breastfeeding, age, weight changes, and birth control pills or other hormones may change the shape, size, and feel of your breasts.

Breast self-exam is done once a month so that you become familiar with the usual appearance and feel of your own breasts. The best time to do a breast self-exam is two to three days after the end of your period, when your breasts are less likely to be tender or swollen.

If you discover anything unusual, such as lumps, discharge from the nipple or dimpling or puckering of the skin, you should see your doctor at once. Remember, eight out of 10 biopsied breast lumps are not cancer.

Download a PDF of these exam instructions.
Breast HealthCare Center Self Exam card

To perform your breast self-exam:

lie down on your back with a pillow under your left shoulder and your left arm above your head
use the pads of the three middle fingers on your right hand to examine your left breast
press in a circular motion – once with light pressure, then once with medium pressure, then once with deep pressure
press in an up and down pattern similar to mowing a lawn
start in the middle of the underarm of your left side and move toward
the middle of your chest
feel for changes in your breast, such as any lumps or thickening of breast tissue
be sure to check above and below your collarbone
follow this procedure to check the right breast
also, stand in front of a mirror and examine your breasts with your hands on your hips and then lift your hands over your head, again checking for any changes in the look of your breasts
finally, with your hands on your hips, press down and tense your chest muscles to make any changes more prominent