It seems as though most of us know someone whose life has been touched by breast cancer. One of every eight women living in the United States will develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
It is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in women after lung cancer. The only cancer more common to American women is skin cancer.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that because of the millions of dollars spent every year on research and finding a cure, progress is being made. There is even a good chance that there will be a cure within your lifetime. Until that time, we must remain diligent in our quest to detect breast cancer early enough to treat it efficiently and effectively.
It has been proven that the best way to fight breast cancer is to detect the disease early in its development. The best way to do this is still the “Big Three.”
- 1. Breast self exam: It is true that most women who have a lump have found it themselves. A lot of women say that they would never be able to tell if they had a lump or not, due to the composition of their breast tissue. It is still best for each woman to know her own body and she will easily recognize any changes that take place.
- 2. Regular Mammography: Mammography is still the gold standard for imaging breast tissue. There are many new developments and ancillary tests that can be used alongside the mammogram to help determine if a possible lesion warrants further investigation.
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3. Clinical Breast Exams: Your personal health care practitioner is specially trained to recognize the delicate changes that take place in a woman’s breast.
Together with your personal and family history they can help you make decisions about your personal breast health plan.
So who is at risk of developing breast cancer? Risk factors have a wide range and have been looked at closely. The first and foremost risk factor is that of being a woman only to be seconded by age. The chance of developing breast cancer increases with age. Approximately eight out of every 10 women who get breast cancer are over age 50. The third most significant risk factor is having a personal history of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer or endometrial cancer.
Other risk factors include personal history of fibrocystic changes in the breast tissue, personal health history such as early menses or late menopause, never carrying a pregnancy to full term, age 30 or older at first pregnancy, never having breastfed. Still other factors include obesity, environmental and heredity influences, alcohol use and hormone therapy. Surprisingly however, more than 75 percent of women who develop breast cancer do not have significant risk factors.
Here in Ashland, at Memorial Medical Center we are fortunate enough to have the latest in technology, coupled with specifically trained personnel and a radiologist on staff daily. Together this trio of resources can greatly enhance your level of confidence that your breast health and peace of mind is important to us.
Memorial Medical Center’s Mammography Services is committed to taking care of you, your concerns and getting answers to your questions. The MMC board of directors is supportive of major purchases of the latest equipment and technology available. Administration is supportive of staff receiving the training that they need to stay current on all of the new technology and changes that are so rapidly evolving in the field of breast health and care.
MMC has a full spectrum of breast imaging procedures. They include digital mammography, breast ultrasound, ductography and sentinel node mapping. Should the need arise for a breast biopsy, staff works closely with a radiologist and surgeon to plan the best biopsy choice for you.
Biopsy of the breast is no longer disfiguring and debilitating. In many cases the suspected lesion can be successfully biopsied while the patient is fully awake in as little as 30 minutes. Biopsies can be done utilizing mammography for a stereotactic biopsy or by using ultrasound guidance.
Other equipment is incorporated which allows the radiologist to obtain many samples or “cores” while the patient experiences little or no discomfort. Often a skin ‘nick’ or small incision is made which doesn’t even require stitching. After the suspect tissue is obtained it is sent to our own lab and analyzed by the on staff pathologist. Patients often get their results with in a day or two.
Our goal is to offer the best, complete care, here in your own hometown. This is the place where we know you, We are your neighbors, your friends, your relatives. We are people who care about you. We are MMC and we are committed to bringing you the best.
Written by Pam Dewey, Radiologic Technologist and Certified Mammographer with Radiology Services of Memorial Medical Center