On October 7, Dr. Portia Silk of Southern New England Radiology was hosted to speak at the Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library on the topic of mammograms. If you are a woman, you, like many others, dread the squishing and pulling that goes along with getting the best images possible. The importance of annual screening cannot be overstated. Simply put, it saves lives. As many as 1,000 women a year are saved by screening.
For over 20 years, the doctor has been screening women for breast cancer. She said there is no clear reason why these cancers occur, except possibly in cases where familiar DNA predisposes for cancer.
Over the years, some have believed that the radiation received during testing was too high a risk to take. That is simply not true. Every day, we are bombarded by radiation from the natural environment at rates higher than those used in mammogram screenings. Like many things in medicine, we need to consider the risk/benefit ratio. With cancer rates rising in younger women, those considerations need to come sooner rather than later. It is recommended that women 40 years of age should begin getting annual mammograms and continuing screening into senior years (above 75 and older).
Silk said that although the technician may take many images, “…it doesn’t mean anything is wrong…they are just trying to get the best images possible.”
The doctor spoke using much medical terminology but explained terms such as tomosynthesis (3D imaging), distortion (breast tissue that is abnormally shaped), calcification (calcium deposits), and pleomorphic (cells of differing shapes).
One of the more common terms a woman may hear is that her breasts are “dense.” Dense breast tissue makes imaging more difficult Silk explained, not that cancer is present. Therefore, dense breast tissue makes detecting cancer all the more difficult. Real images were part of the presentation. These specimens drove home just how difficult it can be to see cancers even in non-dense breasts.
High breast density isn’t rare. Silk said 10% of dense breasts are fatty, 43% have scattered density, 39% have heterogeneous breast and 8% would be classified as extremely dense.
After screening, Silk said you may get a call to come back in for more imaging. She said the majority of the time its just to get a better image – not that anything has been found or is wrong. Easily said, “Don’t worry,” but returning to get more imaging done is necessary to get conclusive test results that nothing is wrong.
Silk presented facts regarding breast cancer risks. She mentioned both personal data and heredity data are taken into consideration. Personal details include the onset of menses, onset of menopause, no children or children after 30, postmenopausal obesity, hormone replacement therapy, alcohol use, physical inactivity, and type 2 diabetes. On the heredity side are 1st degree relatives with breast cancer before 50, two or more family members with breast or ovarian cancer, first degree relative with ovarian cancer, any male breast cancer, and gene mutations such as BRCA (breast cancer gene).
The biggest take away was not only the shear importance of breast cancer screening but the age to begin – 40.
Visit sneradiology.com to schedule a breast cancer screening appointment or call your doctor. There’s no time like the present.
Joseph H. Plumb Memorial Library – Rochester
By Marilou Newell