Breast Cancer Screening

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer women face second only to lung cancer, however it is the most feared cancer or disease for most women. It occurs in about 12% of women who will live to the age of 90. Several well established factors increase the risk of breast cancer and they include family history, nulliparity (not having had children), early menarche (starting menstrual cycles early), advanced age and a personal history of breast cancer. Other risks include exposure to environmental toxins such as tobacco smoke that increase the chance for cancer growth. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The American Cancer Society has many activities this month to bring this to the public attention.

Early education on self-breast exam and early screening is extremely important in achieving good outcomes. Self-exam and physician examination will detect cancer at a rate between 70 ? 80%. Adding screening mammography (mammograms) will increase detection to 96 ? 98%. It has been shown that early detection through clinical exam and mammography can reduce breast carcinoma mortality by 20 to 30%. Today's gold standard for screening (mammograms) will still miss between 10 and 15% of neoplasm.

Therefore, if a clinically noted mass is followed by a negative mammogram the work up should then include a breast ultrasound and/or a fine needle aspiration cytology and close interval examinations. The modality of Magnetic Resonance Imagining (MRI) is a method of examining the breasts that is far more sensitive in picking up smaller tumor than Mammogram. MRI is widely used in Europe but has not taken on in the US yet. It is more expensive as a screening tool in the USA, but since it is so widely used in Europe it is actually less expensive there. Even with open biopsies of suspicious masses the diagnosis of a malignancy is one in about five biopsies performed. This may seem costly but the morbidity and mortality of missing a malignancy is even more so.

Screening should start with a baseline mammogram at age 35, or younger if there is a strong family history. Annual examinations should be performed once a woman reached 40 years of age, and self examination should be encouraged monthly starting at the age of twenty. Disease prevention & early screenings is the mainstay of a preventive medical practice despite the somewhat conservative recommendations made by medical specialty societies and the managed care industry. Oftentimes the risk-benefit ratio for cancer screening has the dollar as it's bottom line, but if you are the unfortunate patient to have a cancer that was not detected early, then all the statistics in the world will not matter to you. My philosophy is to pay a little more in time and money upfront to assure a disease free state.

An important thing for women to remember is a positive family history alone increased lifetime risk of cancer to about 25%, that is double the incidence of no such history. Recently the interest has focused on cancers associated with germ line (inherited) genetic mutations. While approximately 5 ? 10% of all breast cancer sufferers have a mutation in BRCA1 gene (located on chromosome 17) and BRCA2 gene (located on chromosome 13), this type of screening should only be done when a first degree relative with know cancer and a positive mutation is detected or whether a women falls into a certain ethnic group. Women who have inherited a BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation have a relatively high lifetime risk of breast cancer (about 50-85%). Risk for cancer in the opposite breast of a woman with a BRCA1 mutation is about 25%. In such cases genetic screening may be advocated. Once a tumor is detected important prognostic determiners as stage of the disease, histology and nuclear grade, estrogen and progesterone receptor status and HER2/neu gene amplification tests are advisable.

For more information on Breast Cancer the following websites are helpful: http://cancerweb.ncl.ac.uk/cancernet/ and www3.cancer.org/cancerinfo. Also a call to the American Cancer Society at (800) ACS-2345 can be of help. To conclude, it is extremely important for women to maintain annual physical exams and aggressive cancer screening regiments. There are means to help prevent cancer in those women who seem predisposed. Screening is one thing, but taking measures to help prevent cancer growth is yet another. There are things women do on a daily basis that can increase their chances for breast cancer (and other cancers) that they are not aware. The programs advocated at my center are based on lifestyle modification, prevention, early detection, natural hormone replacement and nutritional medicine. Women should take a proactive approach to the breast cancer issue, for it may save their lives. This topic is one that is close to my heart, as my ex-wife is a breast cancer survivor.

Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention
By JP Saleeby, MD

JP Saleeby, MD is Assistant Medical Director of the Emergency Room at LRMC, Hinesville, GA. He hold adjunct professorship in the School of Nursing at Georgia Southern University. He performs online telemedicine consultation via http://www.saleeby.net

---

Victorious

There it is again. I muttered to myself, frustrated as... Read More

Breast Cancer Statistics ? How Breast Cancer Survival Rates Increased 50%

Breast cancer statistics show that over 1.2 million persons will... Read More

Breast Cancer Detection Unit for the Home

Detecting Breast Cancer early is a key step in protecting... Read More

Breast Cancer Awareness and Prevention Tips

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Men and women can... Read More

Your Risk of Cancer Can Increase With Weight Gain!

We hear it all the time?lose weight for your health.... Read More

Finding Your Spiritual Strength in the Midst of Your Emotional Turmoil

There were so many emotions that I experienced in 2003... Read More

The Insidiousness of Breast Cancer and Its Current Treatment

In our modern world, the benefits that today's manufacturing and... Read More

Do You Know Some Nutrients Help Prevent Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer today is one of the most threatening conditions... Read More

The News You Dont Want To Hear: Youve Got Breast Cancer

For many people being told that they have cancer is... Read More

New Advances In Early Breast Cancer Detection

In November 2003, the American Cancer Society stated that breast... Read More

Are Obese Women Getting Short-Changed By Chemotherapy Treatments?

How much chemotherapy does an obese woman need? Typically an... Read More

Naural Self-Defense Against Breast Cancer - Learning to Cope Successfully with Organochlorine Pollut

What are organochlorines?Organochlorines are chemicals found in some herbicides and... Read More

Lets Start Screening For Breast Health

In the United States, American women are told to begin... Read More

Early Detection And Breast Cancer

It is generally accepted that by the time a cancer... Read More

Mammogram and Breast Cancer Screening

Cancer screening The term screening is commonly used for a... Read More

Passive Smokers Can Get Breast Cancer! Learn How?

US scientists have claimed that secondhand smokers are at higher... Read More

Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging In Medical Therapy

Digital technology now makes Digital Infrared Thermal Imaging available to... Read More

A Tool for Early Breast Cancer Screening

Who isn't familiar with the expression, "early detection is the... Read More

New Hope to Prevent Breast Cancer: What Every Woman Needs to Know

In March, 2005, a major nutritional breakthrough in the fight... Read More

Breast Cancer The Cure

You have my permission to publish this article electronically or... Read More

Breast Cancer Screening

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer women face... Read More

Emotional Responses to Breast Cancer - Understanding the One You Love

Being diagnosed with breast cancer is a life-changing event. A... Read More

Mammograms Are No Joke - They Can Save Lives!

There are so many jokes about mammograms! Have you heard... Read More

Breast Cancer - 101

The cancer is a term for diseases in which abnormal... Read More

Breast Cancer for Beginners

Introduction Because of the social changes, which has brought increased... Read More

Antiperspirants And Breast Cancer

Most underarm antiperspirants contain as the active ingredient, Aluminium Chlorohydrate,... Read More

Early Breast Cancer Detection

Most women are familiar with mammography as our "gold standard"... Read More

My First Thermographic Experience

I had been a bit nervous all day wondering what... Read More

Recommendations For Early Breast Cancer Screening

Women need to empower themselves about the benefits and risks... Read More

Gift Giving for Breast Cancer Patients and Their Families

Did you know that each year, 182,000 women are diagnosed... Read More

Breast Cancer

In December of 2001, breast cancer was the furthest thing... Read More

Finding the Spirit - Identifying the Enemy

In the daily fight for survival our vision is blurred... Read More

Can You Reduce Your Risk of Breast Cancer?

We hear it all the time?lose weight for your health.... Read More