The importance of regular breast cancer screening

It’s October dear ladies and gentlemen, the month whereby we commemorate our efforts to combat breast cancer and of course to honor the lives of our loved ones who lost their battle against this deadly disease.
Breast cancer awareness is an effort to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of breast cancer through education on symptoms and treatment.
There are about 1.38 million new cases and 458 000 deaths from breast cancer each year (IARC Globocan, 2008).
I know everyone of us is a victim of this, if not ourselves, at least our friends or family members at some point suffered this disease and it directly affected us all.
 Like any other form of cancer, to successfully combat any type of cancer, it starts with prevention, and when we talk about prevention, we directly refer to early screening.
In the efforts of sharing the breast cancer early detection awareness to the public, last week I was involved in the community outreach here in Dar es Salaam where I had the chance to answer some frequently asked questions from people, especially women, about breast cancer screening.
 I would like to shed some light and debunk the myths and misconceptions  about breast cancer screening.

1. Having small breasts doesn’t necessarily mean you have narrow chance to develop cancer
Whether your breasts are large or small in size, it doesn’t matter. You equally share chances of developing breast lump with someone with bigger breast.
Do not get fooled by breast size. Always get screened often. So don’t worry what shape or size your breasts are, those mammogram techs will find a way to flatten them into pancakes for your screening.

2. Many women don’t really understand what does dense breasts mean, after mammogram
Breasts are made up of glandular tissue (which produces breast milk), connective tissue (to support the breasts) and fatty tissue.
The ratio of these three components determine whether you have dense breasts or not.
Fifty per cent of women over 40 have dense breasts — that means, 1 in 2 women.
You can’t actually feel if you have dense breasts. This a medical term to describe your mammogram results.
Dense breasts doesn’t mean that you have cancer. But because of how dense breasts look on a mammogram, it can make it more difficult to read them.
I therefore urge patients to ask their healthcare providers to explain to them their results in a very simple and plain language soon after the mammogram results are out.

3. Many women aren’t really sure how often they should go for breast cancer screening
According to the recommendations from Center of Disease Control and Prevention, women should get breast screened at least once  a year.
However, when and how often one should go for screening depends on the host of factors including age, race, and family history.
Women from ages 40 to 44 should have the choice to start annual breast cancer screening with mammograms if they wish to do so.
Women from ages 45 to 54 should get mammograms every year.
Women aged 55 and older can switch to mammograms every two years, or can continue yearly screening. Screening should continue as long as a woman is in good health and is expected to live ten more years or longer.
If you look closely, these are guidelines for a woman of “average” risk.
Average is a vague term, so it is important to discuss these recommendations with your healthcare provider, determine if you have any risk factors, and decide what makes sense for you.
 
4. Many people with no family history of breast cancer, ignore screening
We really need to understand that only 5 to 10 per cent of breast cancers are familial (someone in your family has it).  That means 90 to 95 per cent are spontaneous, with no family history. So don’t let your lack of family history of cancer lull you into thinking you have no risk and no reason for screening.
 In the end, talk to your healthcare provider. Make an informed decision about what is best for you about when and what type of mammogram you need.