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Breast Cancer
Get the Facts
By Lisa Hurt Kozarovich
All women, he says, should perform self-exams, and women age 30 and older should have a yearly clinical breast exam by their doctor. Women with a family history of breast cancer should have clinical exams and mammograms earlier than the general recommendations.
In those exams, Dr. Oratz says, women should be looking not only for lumps in the breast, but also under the arm, redness of the skin, inverted nipples, crusting over of the nipple, discharge from the nipple, changes in the shape of the breast and anything else that's unusual.
Most of the time, pain is not a symptom of breast cancer, Dr. Winer says, but it is in about 10 percent of the cases. For Franklin, it was the intense breast pain that first sent her to the doctor – something she didn't realize could be an indicator of breast cancer.
As for the debate over whether mammograms are beneficial, Dr. Winer says, "I think the American public overestimates how effective they are. Does that mean women should stop having mammograms? Of course not."
Despite problems with the screening process with mistakes often blamed on the technician reading the results and not the actual mammogram test, it's the best option women have, Dr. Oratz says. "It is the only and the best screening method for the early detection of breast cancer," she says. "It is absolutely necessary. Yes, it can be terrifying, but 200,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and 40,000 women will die. We can prevent this to a large extent with early detection. We should be vigilant and well-educated."
