early detection is key!

stopnstare12
stopnstare12 Member Posts: 4
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
On average, mammograms will detect about 80-90% of breast cancers in women without symptoms (ACS). A mammogram is a type of x-ray that takes a picture of your breasts and if present, finds abnormal cells that may be cancerous. There are many different guidelines for when to start getting mammograms. A lot of the guiding principles contradict one another and it is hard for people to choose which of them is the safest for their health. The American cancer society says that when you are 40-49 years old, you should get them every 2 years and annual mammograms should start at age 50 and (ACS). While on another article from the American cancer society, they state that women 40 and older should get yearly mammograms (ACS). As you can see there is a lot of confusion. The Illinois department of insurance also has different requirements of when they will cover the mammograms and all things related to it. All of these differences may end up hurting women. Consequently, the guidelines for breast cancer should be improved so that mammograms can help detect the earliest stages of cancer thus saving many lives. There was a recent update to the rules but they weren’t beneficial changes because they raised the minimum age to begin mammograms.


Another reason is that early detection, with the help of mammograms, stops the spread of cancer. When the tumor isn’t caught early enough, the tumor has time to grow making it stage III of cancer. Stage III is an advanced form of cancer with a tumor larger than 5cm that spread to lymph nodes under the arm (signs and symptoms). In this case, the tumor, the tissue around the tumor, and the lymph nodes must be removed. The tumor can also spread to other organs in the body if not treated early enough. Stage IV is the most severe stage of cancer. This stage is diagnosed when the cancer has spread to other organs of the body (signs and symptoms). When the tumor spreads, it is a lot harder to terminate. If the tumor spreads to the lungs, a part of the lung that is affected may be removed making it difficult to live with and maybe ending in death.

Because of how important early detection is, it is clear that the current recommendations are “bad”. The American cancer society says that annual mammograms should start at age 50 and when you are 40-49 years old, you should get them every 2 years (ACS). Another article from the American cancer society, they state that women 40 and older should get yearly mammograms (ACS). The Illinois department of insurance will cover annual mammograms from 40 and older. These are all of the current and official recommendations. If you begin mammograms at age 50, the tumor has plenty of time to grow and even spread to other parts of your body making it fatal. Lauren Krebs, a cancer survivor from Florida, says “Can you imagine if I didn’t get my first mammogram until I was 50? I’d be dead.” She is right; waiting that long with a cancerous tumor inside is life threatening. Early detection saves lives.

The guidelines for breast cancer should be improved so that mammograms can help detect the earliest stages of cancer thus saving many lives. Without early detection, the cancer becomes more and more life threatening as time goes on without treatment. My mom is a 2 time cancer survivor and began yearly mammograms at age 35. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer at 48 and an annual mammogram found the suspicious mass in her breast. Think if she were to just start getting mammograms at 50, she would have the possibility of dying from that one tumor. She is the perfect example of why the age should be lowered. Why have the potential risk of dying when you can easily avoid it by starting mammograms earlier thus catching the cancer before it becomes fatal.

Comments

  • stopnstare12
    stopnstare12 Member Posts: 4
    #2
    this was for my advocacy
    this was for my advocacy project in school. yes i am a teenager but i have a very strong opinion about this topic. My mom is a 2 time survivor of breast cancer and it is all thanks to a annual mammogram that caught it
  • TawnyS
    TawnyS Member Posts: 144 Member
    #3
    Early detection is key...
    I always did self breast exams in the shower. I felt a lump 3 + years ago and immediately had it checked out with mammo and ultrasound. Imaging place told me it was a benign cyst. Went for a follow up with my ob gyn where he only read the report and did not look at the films and concurred only a benign cyst. Nothing else was mentioned....no biopsy offered. I was 33 then. The lump never went away and eventually about a year ago I started noticing it getting larger. I went in July to a new doc who ref me to a new imaging place. Per their request I got the other films. Guess what....it was cancer. On the old films. Horrifying! Everyone was sick over it...me, my family, the new doctor and imaging group. Couldn't believe it was just overlooked like that. That one small tumor grew and multiplied into two and into my nodes. Early detection is key. I should have had a second opinion, but being 33 and no real bc history in the family besides an elderly grandmother I was naive. I thought they were credible and telling me fact. I thought they were smarter than me. Point is.....early detection is key. I did find my cancer early, unfortunately the imaging group and my ob gyn dropped the ball. Luckily I did go again when I knew something wasn't right. Luckily my cancer was slow growing and I am still alive. Now, I will never know if that cancer was dx when I did detect it early would have had the same prognosis. Would I have had a lumpectomy instead of bilateral? Was it in the nodes? Would I have needed the chemo that I went through? Early detection is the key. I tell my friends if you have a lump and you are not comfortable with what the doctors tell you, push on. Get another opinion. It is aggravating to me that I did find this early...that I did do what I should have. It is also bad that I had to pay for that misdx with my own money! Because I was considered too young to have a mammo and they didn't find cancer! I know I've said all this before, but I couldn't not write it again on this particular thread about early detection. Thank you stopnstare12 for posting! :)
  • Cindy Bear
    Cindy Bear Member Posts: 569
    #4
    Self exam
    Self exam is the most important thing. Even my gyn ack. that. Feel them, and look at them in the mirror. Look for changes in size, dimpling, appearance etc. Younger women tend to have denser breasts so often nothing shows up on mammogram until cancer is pretty far advanced. This age cutoff is very arbitrary. As we all know, young women in their 20's and 30's are being diag. with breast cancer. Also, if you do get a yearly mammogram, I would alternate between 2 different places. A lawyer friend has a current case of a woman who went for a mammogram 3 yrs in a row, same place, faithfully. The 4th year, she went somewhere else , was having some breast pains. Guess what, she had advanced breast cancer. When she pulled her films from the prior 3 yrs, the cancer was there. First year film was iffy, 2nd and 3rd year, definitely there. Radiologist misread film.
  • dottie68
    dottie68 Member Posts: 31
    #5
    TawnyS said:

    Early detection is key...
    I always did self breast exams in the shower. I felt a lump 3 + years ago and immediately had it checked out with mammo and ultrasound. Imaging place told me it was a benign cyst. Went for a follow up with my ob gyn where he only read the report and did not look at the films and concurred only a benign cyst. Nothing else was mentioned....no biopsy offered. I was 33 then. The lump never went away and eventually about a year ago I started noticing it getting larger. I went in July to a new doc who ref me to a new imaging place. Per their request I got the other films. Guess what....it was cancer. On the old films. Horrifying! Everyone was sick over it...me, my family, the new doctor and imaging group. Couldn't believe it was just overlooked like that. That one small tumor grew and multiplied into two and into my nodes. Early detection is key. I should have had a second opinion, but being 33 and no real bc history in the family besides an elderly grandmother I was naive. I thought they were credible and telling me fact. I thought they were smarter than me. Point is.....early detection is key. I did find my cancer early, unfortunately the imaging group and my ob gyn dropped the ball. Luckily I did go again when I knew something wasn't right. Luckily my cancer was slow growing and I am still alive. Now, I will never know if that cancer was dx when I did detect it early would have had the same prognosis. Would I have had a lumpectomy instead of bilateral? Was it in the nodes? Would I have needed the chemo that I went through? Early detection is the key. I tell my friends if you have a lump and you are not comfortable with what the doctors tell you, push on. Get another opinion. It is aggravating to me that I did find this early...that I did do what I should have. It is also bad that I had to pay for that misdx with my own money! Because I was considered too young to have a mammo and they didn't find cancer! I know I've said all this before, but I couldn't not write it again on this particular thread about early detection. Thank you stopnstare12 for posting! :)

    I agree, if you feel something or see something
    I agree, Iknow I posted this be fore, but I will post again. I have always went for my yearly mamagram, but for the last five, the mamagram has seen something, had ultra sound it seen nothing. This year went to doctor because I was bleeding from my nipple. sent me to mamagram seen something, went to ultrasound seen nothing. The nurse said ultra sound doesn't always see it. Told her I see the mamagram and I seen it. This time sent me to a surgeon did a biposy and now I am having a mastectomy this Thursday.
    If they see something on Mamagram and ultrsound doesn't, don't trust it seek help, wish I did. And yes I am so mad at myself.
    Dottie
  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
    #6
    Annual mammagrams don't 'catch' all!
    Of course - early detection is paramount. Unfortunately, all BCs are not ones that take time to develope. IBC (a very aggressive form) can and does literally 'bloom'/burst forth almost 'over night'. That is not to say that all tests should not be done but rather that testing annually does not mean that it's OK.
  • sgamtd
    sgamtd Member Posts: 124
    #7
    TawnyS said:

    Early detection is key...
    I always did self breast exams in the shower. I felt a lump 3 + years ago and immediately had it checked out with mammo and ultrasound. Imaging place told me it was a benign cyst. Went for a follow up with my ob gyn where he only read the report and did not look at the films and concurred only a benign cyst. Nothing else was mentioned....no biopsy offered. I was 33 then. The lump never went away and eventually about a year ago I started noticing it getting larger. I went in July to a new doc who ref me to a new imaging place. Per their request I got the other films. Guess what....it was cancer. On the old films. Horrifying! Everyone was sick over it...me, my family, the new doctor and imaging group. Couldn't believe it was just overlooked like that. That one small tumor grew and multiplied into two and into my nodes. Early detection is key. I should have had a second opinion, but being 33 and no real bc history in the family besides an elderly grandmother I was naive. I thought they were credible and telling me fact. I thought they were smarter than me. Point is.....early detection is key. I did find my cancer early, unfortunately the imaging group and my ob gyn dropped the ball. Luckily I did go again when I knew something wasn't right. Luckily my cancer was slow growing and I am still alive. Now, I will never know if that cancer was dx when I did detect it early would have had the same prognosis. Would I have had a lumpectomy instead of bilateral? Was it in the nodes? Would I have needed the chemo that I went through? Early detection is the key. I tell my friends if you have a lump and you are not comfortable with what the doctors tell you, push on. Get another opinion. It is aggravating to me that I did find this early...that I did do what I should have. It is also bad that I had to pay for that misdx with my own money! Because I was considered too young to have a mammo and they didn't find cancer! I know I've said all this before, but I couldn't not write it again on this particular thread about early detection. Thank you stopnstare12 for posting! :)

    Early detection is the key
    TawnyS, so sad to read that they misdiagnosed the first time around.
    Over the past 28 years I have found 4 lumps, first one was removed and beneign, second and third were fluid filled and needle biposied, and beneign, the fourth one last year was cancer and was removed. I thought the norm with lumps in the breast was to check further amd/or remove, and from now on I for sure will insist on it.
    Hugs
    sgamtd
  • Moopy23
    Moopy23 Member Posts: 1,751 Member
    #8
    Rague said:

    Annual mammagrams don't 'catch' all!
    Of course - early detection is paramount. Unfortunately, all BCs are not ones that take time to develope. IBC (a very aggressive form) can and does literally 'bloom'/burst forth almost 'over night'. That is not to say that all tests should not be done but rather that testing annually does not mean that it's OK.

    Important Point, Rague
    Thank you, Rague. You state an important but, unfortunately, not commonly known fact about BC. My tumor grew to 6cm within a month. Annual mammos and clinical exams at 6 months apart made no difference. Sadly, not all BC is slow-growing.

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