WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month – the most common cancer in the U.S. for women after skin cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Breast cancer deaths have declined over time, but still remain the second leading cause of cancer death among women overall, the CDC said.
One in eight women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Dr. Rachel Brem is an expert in the field of breast imaging and intervention. She is the Director of Breast Imaging and Intervention as well as a Professor of Radiology at The George Washington University (GW) Medical Center.
In an interview with DC News Now, she said it’s important to note that three-quarters of women who have breast cancer have no other risk factor other than being a woman.
“Really, the number-one risk factor is being a woman. But some of the other ways you might know if you’re at increased risk is if you have a family history of breast cancer, particularly if you have multiple members of your family who have breast cancer,” she said.
Dr. Brem acknowledged that some people just don’t have a lot of women in their family.
“And if that’s the case, then you might have men in your family who have … prostate cancer – that can be associated,” she said. “So those are the kinds of things we look for with familial breast cancer, genetic breast cancer.”
“And it’s important to note that there have already been 70 genes that have been associated with the substantially increased risk of breast cancer. And you can get those genes from either your mother or your father, equally,” she continued.
In the White House, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden, are driving efforts to prevent more than 4 million cancer deaths by 2047 and improve the experience for people who are touched by cancer, including patients, their families and their caregivers.
“Every woman has to get her mammogram starting at the age of 40 and [go] every year until her life expectancy is five years or less – unless she has a family member with breast cancer, then they should start 5 to 10 years earlier than the age of the relative,” Dr. Brem urged.
“And if you have dense breasts, mammography alone is not enough. You must get an ultrasound or additional imaging. And if you do have this gene or multiple family members with breast cancer, then an MRI every year is appropriate as well,” she added.
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, thanks to early detection and advanced treatment, the five-year survival rate for patients is 99%.
“You know, we can’t prevent breast cancer. There’s nothing we can do that will assure that we won’t develop breast cancer, but you can reduce your risk,” Dr. Brem said. “First of all, you can live a healthy lifestyle: proper weight exercise, proper diet, limit alcohol, limit processed food.”
“And you can certainly live in areas of the country that have a lower risk of breast cancer. But we can’t prevent breast cancer. And we also are born with intrinsic risks of breast cancer based on our family history and our genetics, which of course, we can’t change as well,” she added.
Dr. Brem and Christine Teal, associate professor of surgery and director of the Breast Care Center at the GW MFA, collaborated on a book about the breast cancer treatment experience, “No Longer Radical: Understanding Mastectomies and Choosing the Breast Cancer Care that’s Right for You.”
