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Young Breast Cancer
The thought of breast cancer creates many fears regarding the loss of the body image or sexuality as well as the surgery and the possibility of death. There is no way to prevent it or to cure it. Our knowledge is getting greater and new medications and treatments are being developed.
For most women lifestyle changes may help to lower the chances of developing breast cancer. The most important tool used today is early detection and screening. The most important risk factors for breast cancer are age and gender. Breast cancer is more common in women over 50 then in those over 20. Prolonged hormone therapy and women with a history of radiation therapy for other cancers, are at a high risk. Some risk is present in women who take birth control pills, but the risk is gone after 10 years of non-use.
It is very important to have a mammogram when you turn 40 and then each year after that. Women who have lumpy breasts should have a test done at age 35 but this is just a choice as of now.
There is somewhat of a special issue with regards to young women having mammograms. Since younger women have denser breast tissue, normal mammograms may have difficulty penetrating the dense tissue and they may not be able to notice any cancer in the breast.
This problem has been partially solved by the use of a special ultrasound for the breast. The ultrasound makes the lump visible that is hidden in the breast tissue. It also will detect any lumps or early breast cancers that the mammogram didn’t detect. The ultrasound can also help doctors find any particular areas of a biopsy. In addition, doctors might also use an MRI for younger women with dense breast tissue.
There is some good advice for women to follow. It is recommended that all women who are over the age of twenty years old should perform a monthly self breast examination. If you are not familiar with how to best perform the procedure then visit your family doctor or you local health department for assistance. All women who are over the age of 40 should have an annual breast examination by their local family doctor. For women who are younger that 40 it is recommended that you see your doctor for a breast exam every 3 years. If you are a woman who has a higher then normal rick of developing breast cancer, then a good prevention plan would include not only monthly self breast examinations but also an exam at least twice yearly by a doctor. Any noticeable changes mean that you should see the doctor and possibly have a mammogram and an ultrasound.
There is a lot of discussion going on over the issue of mammograms in young women. One concern is the severe trauma that might occur if the young woman receives a false positive result of the mammogram. However, after discussing the issue with women who have gone through the process, it does not seem to create any long lasting problems.
Young women certainly can and certainly do get breast cancer. While it does only account for a small percent of all cancer cases, there is a great impact of this disease. Over a quarter of a million women in the United States along were told they had breast cancer under the age of 40. Even though breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women over 15 and below 54, there is still no really effective breast cancer screening tool for women who are 40 and under and many young women and doctors are even aware that they are at risk for the disease.