Health Benefits- Self plus One & Breast Cancer Awareness
Hello everyone,
2016 Self Plus One Enrollment
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 establishes a Self Plus One enrollment type in the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) Program. Coverage under a Self Plus One enrollment will be available beginning in January 2016. The first opportunity to enroll in Self Plus One will be during the annual Federal Benefits Open Season beginning in November 2015.
You can find more information at:
www.opm.gov/healthcare-
The 2015 Open Season for the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program is scheduled from Monday November 9, 2015 – Monday December 14, 2015.
Please take a moment to read the following article on Breast Cancer.
Breast Cancer Awareness
Other than skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women. Getting mammograms regularly can lower the risk of dying from breast cancer. If you are 50 to 74 years old, be sure to have a screening mammogram every two years. If you are 40 to 49 years old, talk to your doctor about when to start and how often to get a screening mammogram.
What Are The Symptoms?
There are different symptoms of breast cancer, and some people have no symptoms at all. Symptoms can include any change in the size or the shape of the breast, pain in any area of the breast, nipple discharge other than breast milk (including blood), and a new lump in the breast or underarm. If you have any signs that worry you, be sure to see your doctor right away.
How Can I Lower My Risk?
The main factors that influence your risk for breast cancer include being a woman, being older (most breast cancers are found in women who are 50 years old or older), and having changes in your breast cancer genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2). Most women who get breast cancer have no known risk factors and no history of the disease in their families. There are things you can do to help lower your breast cancer risk. The Know: BRCA tool (www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/
Although breast cancer screening cannot prevent breast cancer, it can help find breast cancer early, when it is easier to treat. Talk to your doctor about which breast cancer screening tests are right for you, and when you should have them.
Fast Facts About Breast Cancer
Each year in the United States, more than 200,000
Men also get breast cancer, but it is not very common. Each year in the United States, about 2,000 men get breast cancer and about 400 men die from the disease.
Most breast cancers are found in women who are 50 years old or older, but breast cancer also affects younger women.
About 11% of all new cases of breast cancer in the United States are found in women younger than 45 years of age.
Studies show that women with disabilities are less likely than women without disabilities to have received a mammogram during the past two years.
Black women have the highest breast cancer death rates of all racial and ethnic groups, and are 40% more likely to die of breast cancer than white women.
For additional information please visit:
www.cdc.gov/cancer/dcpc/