Written by Dr. Aisha Harris
Every year in October, millions of people raise awareness for breast cancer to help encourage people to get breast cancer screenings and support those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States with approximately one in eight women in the United States developing breast cancer in their lifetime.
Breast cancer occurs when cancer cells are found in the breast tissue, and it is a disease that can occur in both men and women.
Most breast cancer in women is localized, or not spread out, which increases the opportunity to successfully treat the breast cancer and improve the survival rate.
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, there is a family history risk factor related to breast cancer, with 15% of people diagnosed with breast cancer having a family history.
Having a mother, sister or daughter with breast cancer can double the risk of developing breast cancer, which is why knowing your family history and getting checked for genetic mutations is beneficial when evaluating breast cancer risks.
Breast cancer screenings for women are recommended to start at age 40 years old and generally end at 74 years old. For those with a family history, or those who are high risk, screenings may start earlier than 40 years old.
Breast cancer screenings are completed through a mammogram, which is a special machine used to take pictures of the breast tissue and identify abnormal tissue.
Even though women are more likely to get diagnosed with breast cancer, it is important for men and women to not ignore abnormalities like lumps that occur in their chest region. For everyone, understanding your breast tissue and body and noticing changes will help improve the ability to have early detection of abnormal tissue, whether cancerous or benign.
On average. every two minutes a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States.
Luckily, there are millions of breast cancer survivors in the United States because of the diverse treatment options that exist that include chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgical procedures.
Unfortunately, Black women are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer than white women and more likely to be diagnosed with a more aggressive form of breast cancer that is difficult to treat.
Every day, women are diagnosed with breast cancer and overall 30% of new female cancers diagnosed in 2024 will be breast cancer because it is the most common concern found in women in the United States.
Getting started with breast cancer screening starting at 40 years old or earlier if you are high risk will improve your chance of early detection. If you are a woman under the age of 40, ask your doctor if you are high risk and may need earlier screening. Additionally, breast cancer screenings are every one to two years.
So, staying up to date on breast cancer screenings is also important and essential to maintain the opportunity for early detection and treatment.
Dr. Aisha Harris, MD, is a Flint native and board-certified family medicine doctor at Harris Family Health in Flint, Michigan. Harris Family Health is a membership-based clinic that provides personalized and full primary care to adults and children.
Learn more about Harris Family Health by visiting www.harrisfamilyhealth.com.
Feel free to submit health questions to Dr. Harris via theflintcouriernews@gmail.com.