Doctors explain steps women can take during Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Doctors explain steps women can take during Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Updated: October 4, 2024 4:53 PM EDT

Would you like to deepen your friendship? of course. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 310,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. However, there are steps you can take for early detection and prevention. Here, Dr. Lisa Larkin explains. She is an expert in internal medicine and women's health and is the founder and CEO of MISS MEDICINE. Thank you for your participation. Thank you so much for having me. Understood. This is always an important time of year to talk about this and raise public awareness. What are three things women should know about breast cancer? So the first thing I want to address is that our focus is on mammography. But I want women to know that there are things they can do to prevent breast cancer. Just as we talk about lifestyle to prevent diabetes and heart disease, it's very important for women to understand that lifestyle affects their risk of breast cancer. In fact, we believe that 33% of breast cancer cases in the United States could be prevented if women followed a perfect lifestyle, including eating a healthy diet, maintaining an ideal weight, exercising, not smoking, and limiting alcohol. The goal is prevention in addition to early detection. The second piece of news is good news. This year, guidelines for mammography have become more specific, and all professional organizations now recommend that women should begin receiving mammography at age 40. This is very important. Early detection is important. Therefore, survival rates are correlated with tumor size at diagnosis. Third, and this is really important, every woman needs to know her breast density. This is something I've been talking about for a long time. About 10 years ago, no one really knew how dense their breasts were. Now, thanks to federal legislation, women are informed of their breast density on their mammogram report, and every woman should know it. And you mentioned that some women with increased density are receiving a mammogram letter asking them to see their doctor about additional screening. That can be scary. Can you talk about that?The first thing you need to know is that mammography is a good test, but it's not a perfect test. Tests in medicine are not perfect tests. What we do know is that for women with increased breast density, the ability of mammography to see small tumors decreases in about 50% of women. That's problem one. Problem number two depends on the amount of density a woman has, and density is related to the amount of glandular tissue that increases the risk of breast cancer. Therefore, women with very dense breasts have an increased risk of breast cancer throughout their lives. Does that mean all women with increased density should have a breast MRI? Right. So the letters that women are receiving now say to consult your doctor. If you're one of the 50% of women who have increased breast density, the guidelines in this area can be a little confusing. What I can say is that the denser the breasts, the more extremely dense the breasts, the higher the risk is, and most of these women will need to have additional imaging tests. There are different types of image processing in our city. Available. But in Cincinnati, most people get breast MRIs in that middle category. That's where the guidelines are a little unclear. What they all recommend is doing a risk assessment to understand what your individual risk of breast cancer is compared to the population. And women with a lifetime risk greater than 20% should undergo additional testing. So one of the key messages I want to get across is that every woman should know her breast cancer density and every woman should have a breast cancer risk assessment. Yeah. And that risk may be related to family history. right. There are many others. right. Therefore, breast density is the single most important factor to know beyond genetics and age. However, the number of children is age at puberty, age at menopause, and age at first birth. your weight. There are a lot of things we take into account to help women understand their risks, the real risks. And what can women do now? Right. Therefore, talk to your doctor about your own breast density, your own personal risks. Also, if your doctor is unclear or your doctor is unsure about how breast density is calculated, get resources and try to find a doctor who understands it. And certainly, that's one of the things we practice. A free risk assessment and QR code will then appear on the screen. If you can bring it back for your audience, it's important to see. Prevention is key, Dr. Lisa Larkin, thank you for your insight here. There are multiple ways to contact Dr. Larkin. All of her websites are currently on your screen and will soon be on our website, WLWT.COM. Take another look at the QR code for your free risk assessment. Limited to 30 people, please be sure to scan the QR code on the screen to enter. Once again, T

Doctors explain steps women can take during Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Updated: October 4, 2024 4:53 PM EDT

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and local doctors explain how women can take steps for early detection and prevention. The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 310,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. On Friday, WLWT was joined by doctors. Lisa Larkin, internal medicine and women's health expert and co-founder and CEO of Ms. Medicine, talks about what women need to know about breast cancer. Watch the video for Larkin's full interview. To contact Larkin and learn more about breast cancer prevention and screening, click here.

Cincinnati —

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and local doctors are explaining how women can take steps for early detection and prevention.

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 310,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.

On Friday, WLWT was joined by Dr. Lisa Larkin, an expert in internal medicine and women's health, and co-founder and CEO of Ms. Medicine.

Ms Larkin spoke about the important things women should know about breast cancer.

Watch Larkin's full interview in the video player at the top of the story.

Click to contact Larkin and learn more about breast cancer prevention and screening. here.