Health Want to know your breast cancer risk? Talk to your doctor Sponsored content Regular checkups with your healthcare provider can help determine when cancer screening is right for you By Lauren Glendenning A woenan's chance of surviving breast eancer increases dramatically the earlier the cancer is detected, but because breast eancer ean be ievisible, women t be peoactive about their health screenings Breast caneer is the most common caneer in women, with most cases found in women who are at least 50 years old conding to the Centers for Disease Control and Preveetion About 11 percent of breast cancers are found in women nder the age of 45 Dr. Jeannine Benson, Internal Medicine Physiclan at Kaiser Permanente's Edwards Medical Ofios, said it's important o women to know that they can still et breast cancer without y risk factons, but there are wans women can work to roduce their risks. These include staying active and eating a healthy diet, taking with your doctor about the risks and benefits of honsonal medications, maintaining healthy aleohol use and maintaining a healthy weight Mammograms are the most common screening tool for breast cancer. A mammogram is an X-ray of the breast, obtained while the patient stands in front of a special machine, pictured here, that flattens each breast between two plates to obtain the X-ray image. CAN YOU LOWER YOUR RISK? There are many risk factors that ane beyond a womans control when it comes to breast cancer, such as aging and being a woman. Some women also have a family history for which they cannot control Regardless of these uncontrollable risk factors, the American Cancer Sociesy recommends that all women Women should have a diseussion with their doctor about their pensonal risk she said. It is important they know their family Iistory for this disussioen An online tool, barisktoolcancergon, helps assess a woman's risk ofbreast cancer over the next tive years and up to the age o 9o lifetime rsk It looks at a woman's age, age at first periodl age at the time of the birth of a lirst child (oe whether a woman has never given birth), family history of breast cwncer. number ofpast breast hiopsies and racejethnicity. One of the best ways to know your risk for breast cancer is by seeing your doctor regularly and discusngyourlisy family bistory and other factors While there are no sure ways to prevent beast caneer, the American Caner Socicty repoets that some risk factors can be changed or lowered. Be physically active Limit or avoid aloohol PEat a diet that's low in Fat, low in processed and red meat, and high in fnuaits and vegetables Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that mammograms are the best tests doctors have to find breast can be felt. a 55 and older should switch to mammograms every two er earty, sometimes up to three yeabe yearly screening. Fe woman 44, they can cdhoose to start mammograms during this tie if they wish to or if their doctor reconmends it Maintaining a well-halanced dict and ngular evercise routine Rouhy 70 peoent of women diagoosed with breast caneer Benson said other guidelines from The Uined States are the two best waysreduce your risk ofbreast cancer. You have no identifiable risk fact ex, meaning that the disease an also mo ma r alehol nsumpton to lourr your risk mun lar y by chame and ammling to aa- et-uno and who are so 74 who are at arrage rek get a mammo ram oa hear this advice time and again becmase it really doesfactors, said De. Shannon Garton, Family Medkcine Physician every two years, while women between the ages of 40-49 work," said Dr. Ekmson. But because a womans nakEr bras, af Kaiser Permanentes Edwards Mcial Offices Becaus 0uld talk with their doctor about when they should start caneer increases with age, there are two ralk factors women breast cncer can be imvisible and we are not able to trulygeting mammogr can't control: being female and aging Preventative Services Task oece recoemmend that women predict who may get breast canoer, the best measure we have Ter risks and benefits to screening The benefit is todo sereening regularly to try to catch any cancer which is finding cancer earlier, but risks inclade fabse positne may devekop in its carliest stages BReast CAncer BRCA) Susceptibility Gene Woesen with a BRCAte BRCA2 gene mutatice are at a higher risk of breast and narian cancers, Talk to your doctor EARLY DETECTION but genetic testing you have a f mily history o breast, Mammograïts are the most column sereening tool fr breast delay trealiti ta Beton said. women who have specitie r sk ovarian, fallopian tube or peritoneal canoer A majoerity of women diagnosed with breast cancer had no whie the patient stands in front of a special machine thatrmendlations identifiable risk factons-this means as much data as the healthease industry has, there is still so much to leam about imag this disease, said Dr Benson, er not one guaranteed The Centers fr Disease Control and Prevention reports that recommends self-breast exams once a month. way to prediet breast eancer. But coeversatioes with your maograms are the best bests doctoers have to find breast I you notice any changes, you should be evaluated hy your physician about family history, self-breast exams, and letection through regular sereening can help eatch beeast canoer in its earliest stages results which can lead to unnecessary testing overdiagosis and overtreatment; and fakse negative resules in which mammograms can miss some cancers as well, which cosld cancer, A maogram is an X- of the breast,obtained factors should talk to their doctor about personal screening flattens each breast between two plates to obtain the X- on also saggests that patients rensain familiar with their breasts so wosen can notice when a chance occurs She cancer early, sometimes up to three years before it can be felt. The American Caneer Socicty cecommends all wome ages 45 to 5 get mamnograms every year, and women doctor" she saild. "It should also be known that self-breast exams and having a beeast esam by your doctor has not been found to lower the risk o dying from beeast cancer thrive DICAL Coont Suite 104 nco,co 80443 KAISER PERMANENTE