Very few lives not impacted by this disease. Furthermore, I cannot imagine individuals who can honestly say they do not know anyone who has been diagnosed with this disease. What disease you ask? None other than the second leading cause of cancer death in women, breast cancer.
When breast cancer entered the vocabulary of my family members, it took everyone by surprise. Until then, no one in our family had cancer of any kind. However, those two words, breast cancer, sent shock waves rippling through our very fibers. What did this mean? Would our loved one survive? How would this impact the other female members of this family?
Those raw emotions displayed by my family are no different than those experienced by people everyday who receive that dreaded news of breast cancer. The difference between then and now, in my opinion, is how advanced detection and treatment options have come as compared to over twenty-five years ago. Women back then were diagnosed at later stages and often were not given many breast-sparing options.
About 12.4 percent of women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in her lifetime. In 2016, it is estimated that over 246,000 new cases of breast cancer will be identified. In 1975, the five-year relative survival rate was 75.2 percent. However, in 2008 it was 90.6 percent per the National Cancer Institute.
Today with early detection and appropriate treatment, breast cancer is no longer thought of as a death sentence. But the key words are early detection and appropriate treatment. Yet, though we know that finding the cancer early in its disease process and initiating treatment within 60 days improves treatment outcomes, black women are less likely to receive such care.
Per the CDC, black women are 40 percent more likely to die of breast cancer than white women. Research has shown many factors that contribute to this disparity such as lack of resources, late detection and lack of appropriate follow up and high quality treatment.
When you hear those types of statistics, my hope and prayer is that it forces you to take action. Remind someone to go get their mammogram. Mammograms are x-rays of the breast that can detect early breast cancer, even before a palpable mass. And no, these tests do not cause significant pain and they are only performed once a year or every two years depending on whose guideline you are following.
Secondly, if you are diagnosed with breast cancer, discuss with the other members in your family. Breast cancer has a genetic component to it and others may be affected and not be aware. Family history is crucial in determining one’s risk of future disease and how it should best be treated.
Lastly, if you do not have breast cancer, work on lowering your risk.
- Don’t smoke
- Decrease alcohol use
- Maintain healthy body weight
- Get off the couch; Be active
- Breast feed instead of bottle feeding
- Avoid exposure to environmental pollution and radiation
Advances in medicine are useless if we do not take advantage of them and demand equal access to every available option. Breast cancer detection and management have come a long way and will continue to improve with future research.
Your family doctor,
Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D.
Assistant Professor
SLUCare Family Medicine
yourhealthmatters@stlamerican.com
