Battling breast cancer

It is common knowledge to Americans that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It has become seemingly second nature to line towns with pink ribbons and to sign up for a “Race for the Cure” event once Oct. 1 hits.

The support that breast cancer receives across the country during the month of October is commendable, but how much do you actually know about signs, symptoms, the importance of early detection and treatment for the disease?

Daniel Island resident Toya Pound, the physician director for East Cooper OB/GYN, offered insight into these topics, including the significance of mammograms in early detection.

“Mammograms are very important,” said Pound. “They reduce the odds of the patient dying from breast cancer because the breast cancer can be diagnosed earlier. It facilitates the ability for us to give early treatment.”

It is recommended, if there is no family history of breast cancer, that one starts screening mammograms at 40-years-old and continues to have them yearly until 75, added Pound.

“Over 75, it’s sort of based on patient risk and their health at that time,” she said. “That’s the ACog criteria. ACog is American College of OBGYN and it’s what we abide by. There are a couple of different groups that recommend every two years…but we abide by ACog which is yearly after 40.”

For patients who have been found to have a 20 percent or higher lifetime risk of getting breast cancer based on personal and family history, there are other, more pervasive ways for detection, explained Pound.

“Now, there’s the ability to do a 3D mammogram,” she said. “Any patient who has a higher risk of breast cancer or dense breasts, they should have the 3D mammogram performed. For patients who have a lifetime risk of breast cancer that we find to be 20 percent or higher based on personal and family history and a calculation we do, then they also should have a yearly MRI of their breasts. That can detect breast cancer earlier.”

Doctors now also have the ability to detect if a woman or man has inherited mutations to one of the two cancer susceptibility genes—BRCA1 and BRCA2—through a blood test, Pound stated.

“We are really trying to identify women who are at high risk for breast cancer,” said Pound. “This can be because of a personal or family history of breast or ovarian cancer, a history of chest radiation between the ages of 10-30, or a gene mutation. Women found to have the mutation in the BRCA gene have an almost 60 percent lifetime risk of developing breast cancer, so there are many things we can do to be proactive in both prevention and early detection.”

Because early detection technologies have improved, survival rates are much higher than in previous years, continued Pound.

“We think that is two-fold,” she said. “One is because we’re diagnosing breast cancer much earlier and the second is, we’re just a lot better at treating it.”

Although the survival rates vary by the stage of the cancer, the American Cancer Society website states that 89.7 percent of women with breast cancer survive at least five years after diagnoses, regardless of stage or subtype.

Knowing one’s body is also helpful for early detection of breast cancer. If there is a change in the appearance or feeling of the breast, including nipple retraction, dimpling of the skin of the breast, nipple discharge, or a formation of a lump or any kind of palpable abnormality immediately contact an OB/GYN. For additional information, visit http://komensouthcarolina.org/about-breast-cancer/about-breast-cancer/.

BREAST HEALTH SYMPOSIUM

Tuesday, Oct. 24, 5 to 7 p.m.

East Cooper Medical Center 2000 Hospital Dr. (1st floor classroom)

Mount Pleasant

This free symposium will focus on breast health, with a particular emphasis on the journey of a breast cancer patient, starting from the initial consult with an OB/GYN all the way through mammogram results, breast surgery, and reconstruction. A light dinner will be served. Featuring physicians specializing in OB/GYN, breast surgery and breast reconstruction. The breast health panel will be moderated by Daniel Island resident Terry Haas (panel discussion begins at 5:45). To register or for more information, visit EastCooperMedCtr.com or call (866) 830-8326.