October is Breast Most cancers Consciousness Month: Physician discusses prevention, remedy
Up to date: 8:46 AM EDT Oct 13, 2024
SO OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH. AND THE CDC SAYS IT’S THE SECOND MOST COMMON CANCER IN WOMEN. THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY ADDS THAT IN THE UNITED STATES, MORE THAN 42,000 WOMEN ARE ESTIMATED TO DIE THIS YEAR FROM BREAST CANCER ALONE. AND THAT’S WHY EARLY DETECTION IS SO CRITICAL. I’M JOINED BY DOCTOR JAMIE SORKIN, A BREAST SURGEON FOR WELLSPAN HEALTH. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US AGAIN. REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME. YEAH. SO THE NUMBERS ARE SO ALARMING. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT PENNSYLVANIA. THE BREAST, PENNSYLVANIA BREAST CANCER COALITION SAYS ABOUT 2000 WOMEN JUST IN OUR STATE ALONE DIE FROM BREAST CANCER. EACH YEAR. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE WARNING SIGNS OF BREAST CANCER FOR MOST WOMEN, THERE AREN’T REALLY ANY WARNING SIGNS. THAT’S WHY DOING ROUTINE SCREENING IS SO IMPORTANT. THAT’S WHY WE RECOMMEND GETTING A MAMMOGRAM EVERY YEAR. ONCE YOU TURN 40. BUT FOR SOME WOMEN, THEY DO PRESENT WITH SOME WARNING SIGNS. SO FEELING A NEW LUMP IN YOUR BREAST IS ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE EVALUATED BY A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL. I SEE PLENTY OF WOMEN WHO FEEL A NEW MASS AND THEY SAY, OH, IT’S PROBABLY A CYST, OR I HAD SOMETHING LIKE THIS BEFORE AND IT WAS BENIGN OR ESPECIALLY WOMEN WHO WERE RECENTLY BREAST FEEDING THAT THINK IT’S RELATED TO BREAST FEEDING. AND THEY KIND OF PUT IT OFF. AND I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THAT EVEN IF IT’S A FALSE ALARM. COME IN. LET US EXAMINE YOU. LET US TAKE A LOOK AT IT AND TELL YOU IT’S NOTHING TO BE WORRIED ABOUT. SO FINDING A MASS IN YOUR BREAST, HAVING ANY CHANGES TO YOUR — IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE CONCERNING. IF YOU’RE HAVING DISCHARGE OR A RASH. THOSE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT SHOULD BE EVALUATED PRETTY QUICKLY. AND DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS WHEN SOMEONE DOES A SELF-EXAM AND WHEN THEY SHOULD START GETTING MAMMOGRAMS? SO I RECOMMEND THAT ALL WOMEN WHO HAVE AN AVERAGE RISK FOR BREAST CANCER START THEIR MAMMOGRAMS WHEN THEY TURN 40, AND THAT THEY GET A MAMMOGRAM EVERY SINGLE YEAR. I THINK THAT’S THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO FIND A BREAST CANCER EARLY, WHICH IS IT SAVES LIVES. THE EARLIER YOU FIND YOUR CANCER, THE BETTER WE DO AT TREATING IT. I RECOMMEND WOMEN DO A BREAST EXAM EVERY MONTH IF THEY REMEMBER. SO, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS SAY IN OUR OFFICE, BE ON THE FIRST. SO AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH, IT SHOULD ALWAYS BE SORT OF IN THE SAME, SAME TIME IN YOUR CYCLE. BUT REALLY, YOU KNOW, TAKING A LOOK AT YOUR BREAST, IS THERE A SPOT WHERE THE SKIN RETRACTS OR THERE’S DIMPLING, YOU KNOW, DO YOU FEEL ANY LUMPS OR BUMPS ANYWHERE? HAVE YOU NOTICED ANY NEW DISCHARGE? ANY OF THOSE THINGS SHOULD PROMPT EVALUATION AND YOU KNOW, MOMS LIVE SUCH A BUSY LIFE AND I THINK BETWEEN THE TIME AND ALSO FOR MANY, NOT HAVING INSURANCE CAN BE A PROBLEM. WHAT SHOULD UNINSURED OR UNDERINSURED WOMEN DO IN INSTANCES WHERE THEY CAN’T AFFORD A MAMMOGRAM? SO IN PENNSYLVANIA, THERE ARE PLENTY OF WAYS TO GET A SCREENING MAMMOGRAM IF YOU ARE UNDERINSURED OR UNINSURED. THERE ARE SEVERAL DIFFERENT GRANT AND REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAMS YOU CAN REACH OUT TO JUST YOUR LOCAL MAMMOGRAM CENTER AND SAY, HEY, I WANT TO GET A MAMMOGRAM, BUT I CAN’T AFFORD IT. CAN YOU HELP ME? I KNOW AT WELLSPAN WE HAVE PROGRAMS TO FACILITATE THAT, TO PROVIDE ACCESS, AND I’M SURE THAT THE SURROUNDING FACILITIES DO AS WELL. THE PA BREAST CANCER COALITION DOES TREMENDOUS WORK AT HELPING WOMEN WHO HAVE BREAST CANCERS AND HELPING PREVENT BREAST CANCERS. YOU CAN ALSO REACH OUT TO THEM, BUT JUST GOING TO YOUR CLOSEST BREAST IMAGING CENTER AND SEEING IF THEY CAN WORK WITH YOU. THERE ARE PLENTY OF GRANT PROGRAMS AVAILABLE, SO MONEY REALLY SHOULD NOT PREVENT SOMEBODY FROM GETTING A SCREENING MAMMOGRAM OR EVALUATION IF THEY NEED IT. THERE’S NO EXCUSE. AND THAT WAS SO GREAT AND HELPFUL. SO LAST TIME YOU AND I WE TALKED ABOUT BREAST DENSITY AND THE NOTIFICATION OF IT BEING ADDED TO A MAMMOGRAM REPORT. NOW AS A PROVIDER, HOW DOES THIS CHANGE THE OPPORTUNITY FOR AN EARLY STAGE DIAGNOSIS? I THINK IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ALL WOMEN TO REALLY HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THEIR RISK IS FOR DEVELOPING A BREAST CANCER, AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT, YOU HAVE TO HAVE A KIND OF AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT RISK FACTORS THERE ARE. SO BREAST DENSITY IS ONE OF THOSE. SO IF YOU GO GET YOUR SCREENING MAMMOGRAM AND YOU GET A NOTIFICATION AT THE BOTTOM THAT SAYS YOU HAVE DENSE BREAST, THAT’S ONE CHECK IN THE COLUMN FOR A HIGHER RISK FOR BREAST CANCER. OTHER RISK FACTORS ARE IF YOU HAVE A STRONG FAMILY HISTORY OF BREAST OR OVARIAN CANCER, IF YOU’VE EVER HAD BREAST CANCER BEFORE, IF YOU’VE EVER HAD PREVIOUS RADIATION TO YOUR UPPER CHEST, AND THEN SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF WOMEN DON’T REALLY REALIZE IS THAT OUR WEIGHT IS AN INDEPENDENT RISK FACTOR FOR BREAST CANCER. SO WOMEN WHO HAVE A BMI OVER 30 HAVE A HIGHER RISK OF BREAST CANCER THAN THE AVERAGE WOMAN. AND SO IF YOU HAVE 1 OR 2 OF THOSE RISK FACTORS, YOU MAY NEED ADDITIONAL SCREENING OR SURVEILLANCE. SO I THINK BEING AWARE OF WHAT YOUR PERSONAL RISK IS REALLY HELPS TO DETERMINE WHAT EXTRA STEPS YOU MIGHT NEED TO TAKE. AND I FEEL LIKE SO MANY OF US ARE TOUCHED BY BREAST CANCER IN SOME WAY, WHETHER IT’S A DAUGHTER, A MOM, A WIFE, A GRANDMA, WHAT SHOULD WE KNOW ABOUT THE TREATMENTS FOR BREAST CANCER THAT ARE AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW? SO MOST WOMEN WHO GET BREAST CANCER, I ALWAYS SAY WE TREAT YOU. IT’S A TEAM SPORT, RIGHT? SO THERE’S NOT ONE WAY TO TREAT A BREAST CANCER. MANY WOMEN WHO HAVE BREAST CANCER UNDERGO SURGERY. SOME WOMEN HAVE TO GO THROUGH CHEMOTHERAPY, SOME WOMEN NEED RADIATION, AND SOME WOMEN GET HORMONAL THERAPY. THE TREATMENTS THAT WE DO NOWADAYS ARE SO DIFFERENT THAN WHAT WE DID. EVEN TEN AND 20 YEARS AGO. AND WE’VE REALLY WORKED HARD TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GIVE WOMEN THE BEST TREATMENT WITHOUT REALLY IMPACTING THEIR DAY TO DAY LIVES AND SORT OF DEESCALATING THERAPY. SO WE, YOU KNOW, REALLY NO LONGER DO ROUTINELY THESE BIG, HUGE RADICAL SURGERIES WE CAN DO MUCH MORE MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURGERY, A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS IN RECONSTRUCTION, AND THEN TRYING TO TAILOR TREATMENTS, REALLY TO THE TYPE OF CANCER THAT YOU HAVE. SO A REALLY PERSONALIZED APPROACH TO CANCER CARE, I THINK HELPS TO HOPEFULLY IMPACT WOMEN A LITTLE BIT LESS WHILE TREATING THEM MORE EFFECTIVELY. ALL RIGH
October is Breast Most cancers Consciousness Month: Physician discusses prevention, remedy
Up to date: 8:46 AM EDT Oct 13, 2024
October is Breast Most cancers Consciousness Month.The Facilities for Illness Keep an eye on and Prevention says it is the second one maximum commonplace most cancers amongst ladies in the usAccording to the American Most cancers Society, greater than 42,000 ladies are anticipated to die this yr because of breast most cancers.That is why early detection is significant.Dr. Jaime Slotkin, a breast surgeon for WellSpan Well being, spoke with Information 8 concerning the caution indicators for breast most cancers, when ladies will have to get started getting mammograms and remedy choices for girls who’re identified. Watch the interview within the video participant above.
October is Breast Most cancers Consciousness Month.The Facilities for Illness Keep an eye on and Prevention says it is the second one maximum commonplace most cancers amongst ladies in the usAccording to the American Most cancers Society, greater than 42,000 ladies are anticipated to die this yr because of breast most cancers.That is why early detection is significant.Dr. Jaime Slotkin, a breast surgeon for WellSpan Well being, spoke with Information 8 concerning the caution indicators for breast most cancers, when ladies will have to get started getting mammograms and remedy choices for girls who’re identified. Watch the interview within the video participant above.
