HEALTHWATCH

Women's Health

Early Detection Key to Battling Breast Cancer
By: Jaclyn Cunanan

Imagine a woman. We'll call her Sarah. She's 38, healthy, an active mother of two teenagers and is looking forward to finally being able to travel now that she has a job that pays reasonably well. After finding a small lump on her left breast, she at first wants to ignore it because of her belief that she's too young to be worried about breast cancer. Finally though, at her best friend's insistence, Sarah decides to get a mammogram. The results are suspicious so her doctor suggests more tests. The tests reveal breast cancer and she thinks helplessly that her vacation will have to be put on hold indefinitely. Does Sarah's story seem remote, like something that only happens to other women? It shouldn't. Every woman faces this risk. The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 13of women will contract invasive breast cancer at some point in their lives. One in 33 women will die from it. For women, it is the most common cancer aside from skin cancer and the leading cause of cancer deaths aside from lung cancer. Roughly 41,000 women die of breast cancer every year in the United States.

While the causes of breast cancer are unknown, certain things are recognized as factors that increase a woman's chance of contracting breast cancer. Some of these risk factors are out of a person's control such as gender, advanced age, and family history. Others are not. Behavioral risk factors include not having children (nulliparity), smoking, being obese, or consuming a high-fat diet. Nonetheless, it is important to note that that having a risk factor, or even several, does not necessarily mean that one will contract breast cancer. In fact, most women with breast cancer have one or no risk factors while other women with many risk factors may never develop the disease.

Experts at The Mautner Project say that lesbians may be at higher risk of breast cancer than heterosexual women. Experts aren't totally sure why this is the case, but they have several theories. As a demographic, lesbians display higher rates of the behavioral risk factors for breast cancer such as not having children and smoking. Furthermore, lesbians are less likely to have access to health care resources because they do not benefit from spousal health insurance coverage. Also, lesbians may seek medical care less frequently than other women because they could fear anticipated, perceived, or actual discrimination by health care providers because of their sexual identity. In order to provide the highest quality care for lesbians, specific education and health programs must be developed for lesbians. Additionally, sexual orientation must be included in research demographics in order to track how the disease affects lesbians specifically.

Much remains unknown about breast cancer, but one thing is certain. Finding cancer early saves lives. Researchers don't know how to prevent breast cancer, so early detection is critically important because it dramatically increases the chances of successful treatment. According to the National Breast Cancer Coalition, the breast cancer mortality rate of women between the ages of 50 and 69 who undergo regular mammograms is reduced by approximately 30as compared to women in this age group who don't undergo regular mammograms. The American Cancer Society recommends that women older than 40 have a screening mammogram every year for as long as they are in good health. Additionally, women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast examination as part of a regular health exam by a health professional every 3 years. Breast self-examinations also can be helpful in familiarizing women with how their breast normally feels; facilitating the detection of abnormalities that may lead to breast cancer.

Eliminating the threat of breast cancer requires more research about its cause and nature. Until the day when doctors can prevent it, women must be vigilant about lowering their behavioral risk factors and having proper medical supervision to ensure early detection of breast cancer.

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