What are some facts about breast cancer?
Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in women. That makes it important that we talk about this month, at least. It’s also important to men, too. Men get breast cancer just as well, but not as often as women. In 2015, there were 300,000 new breast cancer diagnoses, so that shows you how significant it is here in the United States. At least 40,000 people died from breast cancer last year. That brings it to the forefront – we need to be talking about this more and bringing it to everyone’s attention.
There seem to be a few different types of breast screenings. What are those different types and when it is important for women to make certain they have the screenings completed?
This question can be sometimes confusing to patients – it’s important to talk with your doctor about the appropriate time for a screening for you. Different physicians follow different guidelines based on studies that have been done. For example, gynecologists follow The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and begin screening women at age 40, as well as doing breast exams annually. Check with your doctor to see what their recommendations are on screenings. Everyone at average risk starts off with a screening mammogram that could be a digital, or 2-D mammogram, but there is also 3-D mammography available. More patients are asking for that – it offers a slight advantage to digital mammography, as well as fewer callbacks for additional imaging studies. Patients like it for that reason, but it’s important to talk to your doctor and mammography office about the cost of that screening.
Higher risk patients may need to be screened earlier than age 40. It’s important to talk to your doctor about your specific risk factors and how that affects when you should be screened.
Is it important to know if there is a family history of medical issues, specifically breast health? Are there risk factors that I should be aware of?
Absolutely. We have a lot of patients who come to us and say they have a relative with breast cancer. It’s important to know that, but it’s also important to know the details. How old were they when they had breast cancer? How close of a relative are they? If you have a first degree relative, like your mother, your sister or your daughter that has breast cancer, that is certainly much more significant than if it’s a third or fourth cousin. If you have multiple family members, especially on both sides of your family, with breast cancer, that’s important. The more details you can offer your physician about your family history, the better guidance your doctor can give you on how that plays a role in your breast health.
There are personal risk factors that play a role; a personal history of breast cancer, even non-cancerous lesions are important for us to know about. There are things you can do to change and improve your risk factors. For example, obesity after menopause is a risk factor for breast cancer. Making sure you keep the weight down and exercise and follow a good dietary plan are ways to decrease your breast cancer risk.
If you are a male child of a woman who had breast cancer, are you at an increased risk?
That would be something to make your physician aware of. It plays a greater role if you’ve had multiple family members with breast cancer. You would want to discuss several things with your doctor; was it just the mother, or was it several family members? That would prompt questions about genetic screening – are we going to look for a mutation on a chromosome in the family that predisposes the entire family to breast cancer.
Being an OB, share with us your role in assisting patients with breast health and breast health education.
Gynecologists, along with many other physicians like radiologists and breast surgeons, are the first line of defense for breast health. When patients come in for their well visits, that’s a great time to discuss risk factors and family history. We do a breast exam and talk about self-exams. It’s also a great time for patients to ask questions and discuss problems for their gynecologist to look into, to see if they need studies or testing or genetic screening. Gynecologists play a huge role – I always encourage patients to sit down and have that conversation with them.