Lee Health: Mammograms save lives – It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month
This October, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we want to remind you that early detection with mammography saves lives. Mammograms are noninvasive X-ray screenings of the breast that are used to find abnormalities or cancer. Mammograms can find cancer even before it can be felt.
Screening mammograms are recommended every year for all women starting at age 40. However, to ensure women are screened appropriately according to their risk, the American College of Radiology (ACR) recently issued new breast cancer screening recommendations. ACR urges women at higher risk for breast cancer, especially Black and Ashkenazi Jewish women, to talk to their doctor or healthcare clinician about their individual risk by the age of 25 so they can determine if screening earlier than 40 is needed.
Some factors that may increase your breast cancer risk include
Genetic mutations, including BRCA 1 and BRCA 2.
Starting menstrual periods before age 12 and starting menopause after age 55 – this extended exposure to hormones raises the risk of breast cancer.
Having dense breasts can make it hard to see tumors on a mammogram.
Having breast cancer once increases the risk of getting it a second time.
Family history, especially if a mother, sister or daughter (first-degree relative), or multiple family members on the mother or father’s side of the family have had breast cancer, the risk increases.
Mammograms are essential screening tools. Depending on your risk, your doctor or healthcare provider may also recommend breast MRI scans in addition to screening mammograms every year because the MRI can help find more breast cancers.
The bottom line is that women should understand their risk for breast cancer and discuss screening options and the timing of screenings with their doctor or healthcare provider.
To learn more about mammography at Lee Health, visit www.LeeHealth.org and enter ‘mammography’ in the search box. In the event you or a loved one is diagnosed with breast cancer, the Lee Health Cancer Institute has a full team of cancer specialists, including nurse navigators, who care for and support you every step of the way. The Lee Health Cancer Institute also holds nationally recognized accreditations form the Commission on Cancer and the National Accreditation Program for Breast Cancers.
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Larry Antonucci, M.D., MBA is the president & CEO of Lee Health, Southwest Florida’s major destination for health care offering acute care, emergency care, rehabilitation and diagnostic services, health and wellness education, and community outreach and advocacy programs. Visit LeeHealth.org to learn more.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Lee Health: Mammograms save lives – It’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month
