Two Decades of Success...More to Go...

For more than 20 years, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM) has educated women about early breast cancer detection, diagnosis and treatment. NBCAM continues reaching out to women with several key messages, most notably, the importance of early detection through annual mammography screening for women over 40, or earlier for women at increased risk.

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women and the second leading cause of cancer death (exceeded by lung cancer in 1985). Breast cancer is three times more common than all gynecologic malignancies put together. The incidence of breast cancer has been increasing steadily from an incidence of 1:20 in 1960 to 1:7 women today.

Breast cancer is considered a heterogenous disease, meaning that it is a different disease in different women, a different disease in different age groups and has different cell populations within the tumor itself. Generally, breast cancer is a much more aggressive disease in younger women. Autopsy studies show that 2% of the population has undiagnosed breast cancer at the time of death. Older women typically have much less aggressive disease than younger women.

Mammography screenings are a woman's best chance for detecting breast cancer early. When coupled with new treatment options, mammography screenings can significantly improve a woman's chances of survival. We are pleased that ACS & NCS efforts have contributed to more women than ever participating in mammography screening.

Breast cancer is not exclusively a disease of women. For every 100 women with breast cancer, 1 male will develop the disease. The American Cancer society estimates that 1,600 men will develop the disease this year. The evaluation of men with breast masses is similar to that in women, including mammography. Men should get mammography screening too!

Risk Factors...

Early onset of menses and late menopause: Onset of the menstrual cycle prior to the age of 12 and menopause after 50 causes increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Diets high in saturated fat: The types of fat are important. Monounsaturated fats such as canola oil and olive oil do not appear to increase the risk of developing breast cancer like polyunsaturated fats; corn oil and meat.

Family history of breast cancer: Patients with a positive family history of breast cancer are at increased risk for developing the disease. However, 85% of women with breast cancer have a negative family history!

Family history only includes immediate relatives, mother, sisters and daughters. If a family member was post-menopausal (fifty or older) when she was diagnosed with breast cancer, the lifetime risk is only increased 5%. If the family member was premenopausal, the lifetime risk is 18.6%. If the family member was premenopausal and had bilateral breast cancer, the lifetime risk is 50%.

Estrogen replacement therapy: Most studies indicate that taking estrogen longer than ten years may lead to a slight increase in risk for developing breast cancer. However, these studies indicate that the positive benefits of taking estrogen as far as reducing the risk for osteoporosis, heart disease and now more recently Alzheimer's and colon cancer, far outweigh the slight increase in risk that may be associated with estrogen replacement therapy.

Therapeutic irradiation to chest wall i.e., for Hodgkins Disease (cancer of lymph nodes): Patients who have had therapeutic irradiation to the chest are at increased risk for developing breast cancer approximately 10 years later and consideration should be given to earlier screening in this population.

Awareness Information