You may not recognize the name Kerryn McCann, but it's all over the news this week. McCann was an award-winning gt;Australian runnergt;, age 41, who died Monday from breast cancer that spread to her liver and brain. Sadly, about gt;1.3 million womengt; will be diagnosed with breast cancer worldwide this year, and 465,000 women will die from it—McCann is just one of many. The twist on the story is that she discovered her breast lump while pregnant, and initially she thought it was nothing.gt;gt;Breasts can do all sorts of strange things during pregnancy: They blow up, they get tender and lumpy, they squirt mysterious substances. For many women, pregnancy boobs are a downright strange experience. When I was pregnant, it was the first time I had a generous bosom, and I poked my boobs every now and then to see if they were real. What I didn't do was check them to make sure they were healthy.gt;gt;Like McCann, I figured breast changes during pregnancy were normal. And they usually are. gt;Breast cancergt; during pregnancy is quite rare. In the United States, just 1 in 3,000 pregnant women is diagnosed with breast cancer. gt;gt;But you still need to be vigilant. That means doing routine breast self-exams and reporting anything suspicious to your doctor immediately. Breast tenderness is normal during pregnancy, but hard lumps are not. It's really important to take action quickly: The average reported delay in reporting a lump or other symptom detected during pregnancy is gt;5 to 15 monthsgt;, a factor that may contribute to gt;less promising outcomesgt;.gt;gt;If you and your doctor do find an abnormality, there are ways to perform gt;diagnostic testsgt;, such as ultrasound and mammography, without exposing the fetus to radiation. Sometimes babies are induced early (as was the case with Kerryn McCann's baby) so that the mother can start chemotherapy or another treatment as soon as possible.gt;gt;There are lots of lessons to take away from gt;Kerryn McCanngt;: She was an inspirational athlete and mother of three and, whether you are pregnant or not, her story is a call to check your breasts—gt;nowgt;.gt;gt;gt;Read Anne's previous posts:gt;gt;gt;How Blogging Is Good for Your Breastsgt;gt;gt;Good News: My Migraines May Be Good for My Breastsgt;gt;gt;The Survivor Files: Amazing Women Share Their Breast Cancer Journeysgt;

There is no proven link between gt;breast cancergt; and household products, whether they be soap or water bottles. But many consumers, activists, and experts are concerned that a variety of goods contain gt;hormone disruptorsgt;, chemicals that when absorbed into the body can mimic or interfere with hormones such as estrogen. Some researchers believe that chemicals with estrogenic characteristics can cause normal breast cells to divide. gt;gt;"Each time they divide, they have the risk of copying DNA incorrectly and creating mutations in key genes, which may lead to increased breast cancer risk," says Suzanne Snedeker, PhD, the associate director for translational research for the gt;Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factorsgt; at Cornell University. Chemicals that mimic estrogen might also enable an existing breast tumor to keep growing, because most tumors depend on estrogen to grow. gt;gt;Individual products contain only small amounts of these questionable chemicals, if they do at all. But there is growing concern that the ubiquity of such agents in gt;cosmeticsgt;, household products, and certain plastics, may have a cumulative estrogenic effect. "We are not saying if you use a certain product with estrogenic ingredients it will cause breast cancer," Snedeker says. "But the science suggests your risk may be reduced if you avoid these ingredients." Here are a few ways to play it safe.gt;gt;gt;View the slideshowgt;