Healthier Together: October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
This content was created in partnership with our sponsor, Regence BlueShield.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, so this a good time to raise awareness of the disease and for women to schedule a mammogram.
On average, every two minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States, said Dr. Nicole Saint Clair, executive medical director for Regence BlueShield.
"Breast cancer is the second most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths for women in the United States," Dr. Saint Clair said. "In 2022, nearly 300,000 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, resulting in approximately 43,000 deaths."
These statistics are not just numbers; they represent mothers, sisters, friends, and our beloved community members. Dr. Saint Clair notes, "Each diagnosis is a person, a life, and a story. We must never forget that."
Dr. Saint Clair emphasizes that early detection through screening plays a pivotal role in the trajectory of breast cancer treatment. And women may need to get those screenings earlier.
New draft guidelines were released earlier this year by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommending women with average risk should start getting mammograms 10 years earlier than the previous recommendations. The new recommendation is that women should start getting a mammogram at age 40 and every other year after that.
"Finding your cancer early, while that may sound scary, is still a really important step," Dr. Saint Clair said.
"Early-stage breast cancer oftentimes is so small that it won't have any signs or symptoms. The only way you can really know it's there is with an imaging or a screening test such as a mammogram."
Many women won’t have warning signs, but it’s important to stay in tune with your body and do self-exams.
"Any time you have any changes to any skin on your breast, especially in a specific area, it's worth noting," Dr. Saint Clair said. "Worrisome changes in the skin can be if there's swelling and dimpling where it looks a little bit like an orange peel. Also, areas of unexplained redness or discoloration, any areas that seem or look slightly abnormal or feel firm."
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Consider your family history and any previous imaging findings when determining how often or how early you get a mammogram. "Some things that might indicate the need for more frequent screening would be having had a first-degree relative such as a mother or sister who's had breast cancer," Dr. Saint Clair said.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant decline in cancer screenings, largely due to changes in health care provider availability. "We've seen a significant decrease in cancer screenings in general," Dr. Saint Clair said, "and we really want to see that coming back up because that's our best option right now to be able to take advantage of new and advanced treatments that are making huge differences in cancer outcomes."
This content was created in partnership with our sponsor, Regence BlueShield.