Breast cancer: the calendar of preventive screenings
Breast cancer: how we can prevent it “at home” with self-examination, lifestyle and how often to check based on age.
When it comes to cancer, never let your guard down. Prevention is important and effective, especially if to that done “at home”, i.e. by adopting a correct lifestyle, you add that to the doctor and with preventive screening tests.
With the breast examination, together with ultrasound, mammography, the identification of genetic factors responsible for 5-7% of breast tumors, it is also possible to intercept those tumors that do not manifest themselves with a palpable lump, thus increasing the chances of recovery. We talk about it with Dr. Sara Galli, breast radiologist of Humanitas San Pio X.
- 30 years old : first breast examination with ultrasound
- from 30 to 40 years (every year): breast examination with ultrasound
- from 40 to 50 years (every year): breast examination, ultrasound and mammography
- from 50 to 60 years (every two years): mammography
What does breast examination consist of?
The breast examination is divided into two moments: the medical interview focused on personal and family clinical history (anamnesis) and on the detection of individual risk, and then the actual examination with palpation of the woman’s breast and armpit and observation of any anomalies.
Are ultrasound and mammography tests necessary?
Yes, these are the exams that allow you to study and evaluate the breast.
The density of the breast also varies according to the age of the woman, and for this reason the prevention path changes with age, but it can also be personalized by the specialist, based on the risk factors present, between ultrasound and mammography or tomosynthesis , or a latest generation digital mammography that allows early detection of breast lesions thanks to the possibility of carrying out a stratigraphic study of the breast.
Ultrasound is a non-invasive and painless diagnostic imaging test that allows you to study the breast thanks to the use of ultrasound (without radiation). Both exams last a few minutes
What does “risk factors” mean?
By risk factor we mean any element that is able to influence the increase in the probability of developing a certain disease.
However, having a higher probability than the general population of getting breast cancer does not necessarily mean later developing the disease. For example, some women with one or more risk factors for breast cancer will never have the disease, while about half of the women who develop breast cancer have no apparent risk factors.
What are the factors that increase the risk of breast cancer?
There are specific and general risk factors . The latter are more or less directly associated with the development of tumors in general, and are cigarette smoking , excessive alcohol consumption , obesity ; specific ones, on the other hand, are divided into mild, moderate, significant risk factors for breast cancer.
Age represents a slight risk : about 77% of women diagnosed with breast cancer are over 50 years old and at least 50% are over 65, while a significant risk is represented by personal or family history of breast cancer. In fact, a woman who has already had breast cancer, such as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) or invasive breast cancer, has a 3-4 times higher risk of developing a new primary tumor, i.e. not a recurrence, in the same breast or in the other breast.
Even having a mother or sister with breast cancer (but the risk that comes from a male relative with breast cancer, although rare), increases the risk up to three times, especially if the cancer developed before menopause on both breasts. Finally, genetics, i.e. having inherited the BRCA1 gene mutation, and the presence of precancerous breast lesions.
Among the factors that define a moderate risk , however, non-direct family history , for example aunts, grandmothers or cousins with breast cancer, being overweight especially if the concentration of fat is abdominal, family history of other tumors (ovarian, melanoma, pancreatic ) and prolonged use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.
Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.