Officials say Early Detection Is the Key to Surviving Breast Cancer

(KNSI) – October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and medical experts say early detection is essential in surviving the disease.

Registered Nurse and Breast Care Coordinator at the CentraCare Coborn Cancer Center in St. Cloud Amanda Zierden says women should start screening for breast cancer around age 18. “Monthly self-exams are oftentimes the best way. Just check in the shower and do it at the same time every month. If a woman notices a lump or a bump, it’s good to bring that up with their primary care physician to get that checked out. Clearly, ignoring it doesn’t make it go away.”

She says women should start getting routine mammograms at age 40. Zierden says CentraCare also offers another screening test that has exploded in popularity in the last five years. “We also have a lot of capability to offer genetic testing for folks to see whether or not they carry mutations that are provoking the breast cancer. The result of that is significant in that it helps us sometimes determine what treatment they need.”

If you are diagnosed with breast cancer, CentraCare’s Coborn Cancer Center offers a weekly clinic to try and get as many questions answered as fast as possible. “New patients can see a surgeon, a medical oncologist, a radiation oncologist, and a genetic counselor all in one day.” She says normally, those appointments would be spread out over weeks. “At the end of the visit, we basically have two goals for them. To know a little bit more about what they have, and to understand what are the next steps.”

Zierden says the survival rate for breast cancer continues to go up, and the reason for that is because with other cancers, there isn’t the ability to do early detection, but there is for breast cancer. “In many cases, we find these breast cancers early because of the beauty of a routine screening mammogram, and that is where we find the overwhelming majority.”

She says one in seven women will have a form of breast cancer. The Coborn Cancer Center will hold a general cancer screening event in November.

___