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You may notice a lot of pink this month as people shine the spotlight on breast cancer. We want to do our part by sharing some important information about this serious disease so that you can protect yourself.
Outside of skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women — it accounts for 30% of new female cancers each year.
For this reason, and others, Americans rally every October to raise awareness for breast cancer, which is why you see more pink this time of year, from ribbons to athletes’ shoes.
As women’s health specialists who specialize in gynecology (reproductive health), the team here at Bay Area Physicians for Women’s Health wants to do or part to boost education and awareness efforts for breast cancer.
With that in mind, we want to cover a few important points about breast cancer here.
1. Breast cancer is common
We already mentioned that one-third of cancer diagnoses in women are breast cancer, but we want to dive a little deeper into these numbers. The American Cancer Society predicts that there will be more than 310,000 cases of invasive breast cancer diagnosed in 2024, and they also report that one in eight women will see a breast cancer diagnosis some time during her life.
Our point here is that breast cancer is common, and this disease should be on every woman’s radar.
2. Screen earlier for breast cancer
New recommendations have been released when it comes to screening for breast cancer, which typically involves a mammogram. Instead of screening every other year starting at age 50, the US Preventive Services Task Force now recommends starting screening efforts at age 40 and continuing them until age 74.
In between your mammograms, we do our part here at Bay Areas Physicians for Women by performing breast exams during your annual well-woman visits.
3. Know your risks for breast cancer
The recommendations we outline above are for women of average risk for breast cancer. The factors that raise your risks for this reproductive cancer include:
- Having a family history of breast cancer (or other reproductive cancers)
- Carrying a mutation in your BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes
- Having radiation therapy to your chest before the age of 30
- Being predisposed to some cancers via Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Cowden syndrome, or Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome
The best way to assess your risks for breast cancer is to sit down with us to review your medical history. During this visit, we can also figure out whether it makes sense to conduct genetic testing.
If you are at higher risk, we may increase your screening schedule and include more advanced imaging, such as MRIs.
4. Women do survive breast cancer
One of the most important reasons why we raise awareness for breast cancer is so that women screen for this disease. As with most cancers, the earlier we identify the problem, the more effectively it can be treated. In fact, death rates for breast cancer have dropped by a whopping 42% between 1989 and 2021 thanks, in large part, to more screening.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can stay one step ahead of breast cancer, please don't hesitate to contact our office in Mobile, Alabama, to schedule an appointment with one of our women’s health experts.