Disease Prevention in Women (cont.)
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States.
Approximately one in nine women who live to age 65 will develop breast cancer,
although many will not do so until after age 65.
Screening tests
Who to test and how often
Breast self examination
- All women over age 20 should perform breast self-examination monthly, preferably at about the same time in their menstrual
cycle.
- Breast examination by a doctor
- All women over age 40 should have breast examinations by their doctors
every year.
- Mammography
- All women should have a baseline
mammogram by age 40.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends a baseline mammogram for all women by age 40 and annual
mammograms for women 40 and older for as long as they are in good health.
- In women with "lumpy breasts" or breast symptoms, and also in women with a
high risk of developing breast cancer, sometimes a baseline mammogram at 35
years of age is recommended. This recommendation is somewhat controversial, and
there are other viewpoints.
- All women older than 50 should have mammograms every year.
High-risk factors include:
- Previous breast cancer
- Close relatives (mother, sister, or daughter) with breast cancer. The risk
is especially higher if both the mother and sister have had breast cancers, if a
relative developed her cancer before age 50, if the relative had breast cancer
in both breasts, if there is both ovary and breast cancers in the family, or if
a male family member has been diagnosed with breast cancer
Benefits of early detection
Early detection of breast cancer is important to every
woman, regardless of risk factors, because the earlier a cancer is found, the
smaller it is. Studies have clearly shown that the smaller the size of the
breast cancer when detected, the better the chance of a surgical cure and
long-term survival. Smaller breast cancers are also less likely to have already
spread to lymph nodes and to other organs such as the lungs, liver, bones, and
brain.
Mammograms can detect many small breast cancers long before they may be felt
by breast examinations, and there is extensive evidence that early detection by
mammograms has improved survival in women with this disease.
However, some 10% to15% of breast cancers is not detected by mammograms, but
are detected by breast examinations. Therefore a normal mammogram does not
completely exclude the possibility of breast cancer, and breast
self-examinations and breast examinations by a doctor remain important.
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