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Importance of mammograms
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It's a time to raise awareness about the disease, and talking about the importance of early detection and money for potentially life-saving research.
AUSTIN, Texas - October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
It's a time to raise awareness about the disease, and talk about the importance of early detection and money for potentially life-saving research.
Dr. Julie Sprunt, a breast surgeon with Texas Breast Specialists and Texas Oncology, joined FOX 7 Austin's Rebecca Thomas to discuss.
REBECCA THOMAS: Of course. So the CDC, each year, they say in the US, about 270,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer. About 42,000 will die from the illness. So let's talk about the importance of screening and the different levels. At what age should women start with monthly self-exams?
DR. SPRUNT: You know, I think starting with breast self awareness is early on, including as soon as you start, your period is wise. Mainly because it's helpful to know what your normal is so that if anything new or different comes about, it's more noticeable. For a while we recommended against self-exams because you can end up finding benign things. But I think the important thing is to still examine your breast once a month. As soon as you do go through your period and for the rest of your life and if you notice a change in shape, a new mass dimpling of your skin that wasn't there before, a change in the appearance of your nipple, those should prompt attention to your physician.
REBECCA THOMAS: When it comes to a first time, mammograms for women of average risk, different groups have different recommendations. Some say 45, others say 40. Some say every year. Others say every other year, which you break down the guidelines for us.
DR. SPRUNT: That's right. The guidelines have varied, and the American Society of Breast Surgeons, the American College of Radiology, we've always felt that women should start getting screening mammograms when they start 40 or when they turn 40 years old and then continue to get one annually thereafter. It is true that some of the other guidelines recommend starting mammograms at the age of 45 years old. And for average risk women, you can consider getting mammograms every other year. And those guidelines are based on good data looking at overall survival from breast cancer. The reason radiologists and surgeons tends to recommend getting mammograms as soon as you possibly can and should at 40 years old and thereafter annually, is that if we find breast cancer earlier, then you have more options. You have oftentimes less invasive treatments, less likely to need chemotherapy. So early detection is so important that I think it is worthwhile to get a mammogram every year when you start turn 40 years old.
REBECCA THOMAS: Now, when should women who have a family history of breast cancer begin getting mammograms?
DR. SPRUNT: That's a great question. So we still recommend 40 years old. Or if you have a family history where someone was diagnosed particularly young, we recommend considering getting a mammogram ten years before the youngest family member. So if you had a mother who had breast cancer at 42 years old, you could consider getting a mammogram as early as 32 years old.
REBECCA THOMAS: A new FDA rule went into effect last month requiring mammography reports to notify patients about their breast density. Why is this important? And what other screenings should women with dense breast tissue undergo?
DR. SPRUNT: That's true. And it's a real stride and helping empower women to know more about their own health. So breast density falls into four categories. You can have extremely dense breasts, heterogeneous, dense breasts, scattered or fatty. And knowing your breast density allows you to know how well your mammogram may or may not be able to see a cancer. So in somebody who has extremely dense breasts. I equate that almost to a glass of milk. If you have a very fatty breast, it's more like a glass of water if you're to drop a marble. And both in all likelihood, you're going to be able to see it. But it's a lot more difficult to see it in the glass of milk. And for that reason, if you do have extremely dense breasts or heterogeneous dense breast, it's worth considering additional breast imaging. So instead of not just a mammogram, you could consider adding on ultrasound or even an MRI. Or they also now have contrast enhanced mammograms. And those additional tools can sometimes help find cancers in those who do have extremely dense breasts on a mammogram.
REBECCA THOMAS: All right. Dr. Julie Spratt with Texas Breast Specialists and Texas Oncology, thank you so much for sharing your time and your expertise with us tonight.