Breast Cancer Awareness

Breast cancer risk was a major topic of discussion at my annual appointment with my gynecologist earlier this year, and she recommended that I see a specialist. That sounded like overkill to me, because I keep up with my routine mammograms and breast exams, which have been healthy in the past. But a few months after that appointment, my general practitioner recommended the same specialist during my annual physical exam, so I finally took the advice of my two doctors and went last week to see the breast cancer specialist they both recommended.

The specialist spent the first part of our visit learning about my family’s health history; next, we discussed lifestyle factors such as exercise and diet that also affect cancer risk. We used an assessment tool that calculated my risk level as very high, which led her to recommend genetic testing. Before leaving her office, I spent a few minutes spitting saliva into a tube, which the doctor then packaged up to send off to a lab to look for genetic markers for many of the most common cancers. My results will be ready in a few weeks, and we will figure out what our next steps will be once we have more information.

As the specialist explained to me, the goal is prevention and early screening, both of which help contribute to improved outcomes. The odds are that one in eight women in the United States can expect to be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime, and men are not immune. The good news is that for cases caught in the early stages, the survival rate is 99%.

“We are really making a lot of progress in research, and treatment is very different today than it was even 10 years ago. It’s hard to predict where it will be 10 years from now, but I think breast cancer is going to be one of the first cancers where we’re going to be able to say that we’ve virtually eliminated mortality.”

–Dr. Eric Winer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, which makes this a great time to review your risks and to make sure your friends are doing the same. Information and resources are available from organizations such as the National Breast Cancer Foundation and the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.