Breast Cancer: What Every Woman Should Know Compiled by Mary Sterling, Coordinator of Resource Development WELL-AWARE Cancer. Like it or not, all of us will BK-Kansas, Kansas City Obstetrician be touched by this disease in our and Gynecologist. The American Cancer Society lifetime. The American Cancer Soci- makes the following recommen- ety estimates that cancer will strike How can I prevent breast cancer? dations about breast care: one in three Americans, or three out "There is no way to prevent breast 20-39 years old of four families in the coming years. cancer, SO early detection needs to be Examine your breasts monthly. Breast cancer continues to be the most the emphasis," cautions Dr. McBride. Have a physical examination of common cancer among women to- "The youngest patient I have ever the breast at least every three day. It is the second leading cause of had was 18 years old And breast years. Have a baseline mammo- cancer death. cancer is not uncommon in women gram when you are between between 20-25 years of age. It is never 35-39. Why should I be concerned about too early to begin breast self- breast cancer? 40-49 years old examinations (BSE)." Examine your breasts monthly. According to the American Cancer Many women do not do a BSE as Have a physical examination of Society, one in nine women in the they do not know what to look for, or the breast every year. Have a United States will develop breast can- they are fearful of what they might cer in her lifetime. Each year since mammogram every 1-2 years. find. However, fear should not stop a 50 and over 1980, the incidence of breast cancer woman from giving herself a BSE, Examine your breasts monthly. has increased about 3 percent. It is because most lumps are found Have a mammogram every year. estimated that in this year alone, through this process in between a 175,000 women will be diagnosed woman's regular checkups. Breast with breast cancer and 44,500 women cancer is most easily treated when it may die as a result of this disease. is detected early, therefore, self ex- A mammogram is the primary However, the good news is early aminations continue to be very im- scientific/medical means of detecting detection and improved treatments portant for women of all ages. It is a breast cancer. It is an x-ray of the greatly improve survival chances. process that saves lives. breast, and is currently the most ef- fective method of detecting breast What are the risk factors? According to the National Cancer Institute, the best time for a menstru- cancer early when a tumor is small Although the cause of breast can- cer is still unknown, there are women ating woman to do a self-examination and difficult to feel. They are essen- who are at higher risk than others. is two or three days after her period. tial for women who display any A woman who is no longer menstru- symptoms of breast cancer. Women who have had a personal or family history of breast cancer, wom- ating should examine herself on the "Many women are afraid of mam- en who have never had children or same day every month. In either case, mograms because they believe them a BSE should be done once a month. to be painful. A mammogram exam- who have had a first child after age Women may do a breast self- ination is only a ten minute process 30, may be at greater risk. A woman's examination in one of three ways: in with each x-ray only taking a few risk is also greatly heightened if she the shower, in front of the mirror or seconds. If a mammogram is terribly is over the age of 50. However, it is important to realize lying down (please refer to the dia- painful, I would suggest trying an- that even if a woman does not fit into gram). As one is doing a BSE, one other mammogram technician. Some are better than others," comments one of these categories, she is still at should be aware of warning signs of breast cancer. Dr. McBride. risk for breast cancer. "You hear all about risk factors and The American Cancer Society rec- It is recommended that healthy actually the majority of people who ommends that you contact your phy- women over the age of 35 should sician immediately if you notice any have a baseline mammogram that is come down with the breast cancer don't necessarily fit into the risk fac- of the following warning signs of done to compare with future mam- breast cancer. mograms. tor category. They had no reason to expect that they would have a prob- A lump or thickening of the breast. "Ideally, if everyone had a mam- Swelling, dimpling or distortion of mogram, we would detect all of the lem. You simply cannot rely on the the breast. tumors before they were big enough fact that you have a negative back- Scaliness or irritation of the skin. to feel. Unfortunately, there are those ground to protect yourself from breast cancer," states Dr. Nancy McBride, Pain or tenderness of the nipple. rapidly growing tumors that may grow to be two centimeters in be- THE ANCHORA OF DELTA GAMMA FALL 1991/17