Guest post featuring Michael P. Osborne, MD Director of Cancer Screening and Prevention Programs at the Comprehensive Breast Center at Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
When it comes to breast cancer, you can’t hide behind your age, your family history, or last year’s exam. According to Michael Osborne, MD, Breast Surgeon and Director of Breast Surgery Programs for Mount Sinai Beth Israel, there’s more to breast cancer than you may think.
“Up to 75 percent of women who get breast cancer do not have known risk factors,” says Dr. Osborne. “That’s why all women, starting in their 20s, should learn the signs and symptoms and which screenings could save their lives.”
What to pay attention to
Whether or not these risk factors apply to you, it’s important to know the symptoms and stick to the screening guidelines through the decades.
- In your 20s: Begin performing breast self-exams (BSEs). Women who regularly perform BSEs know how their breasts normally look and feel making it easier to identify abnormalities, such as lumps, skin or shape changes and nipple discharge. Physicians also will begin to perform clinical breast exams starting in your 20s.
- In your 30s: Keep a watchful eye on your breast tissue. It tends to change in your 30s, especially during and after childbearing. Also, share your risk factors with your physician; it will help him or her determine when you should get a baseline mammogram, which may be earlier than you were planning.
- In your 40s: Get your first screening mammogram once you hit the big 4-0 when your risk begins to rise. A mammogram may be able to detect breast cancer long before it can be felt. Yet, 1 out of 4 New York women over age 40 don’t get their yearly mammogram. The earlier you detect it, the better your chance of survival.
- In your 50s, 60s, 70s and beyond: Continue with annual mammograms.
What to expect with the unexpected
Mammograms can detect cancer about 8 out of 10 times, as well as non-cancerous breast conditions. In fact, it’s one of the best screening tools to detect breast cancer in its earliest, most-treatable stages. If you have an abnormal mammogram, additional imaging and possibly a biopsy are usually the next steps. “Any cancer or abnormal cells found through a biopsy are usually removed though surgery,” Dr. Osborne says.
An early diagnosis also makes you a candidate for breast-conserving treatments, such as accelerated partial breast radiation therapy, instead of mastectomy. “Every treatment plan we develop is personalized so you end up with the best outcome possible for your health,” Dr. Osborne says.