Breast Cancer: Know Your Risk, Get Screened, Find Support
About 1 in 8 women in the U.S. will develop breast cancer at some point in her life, and an estimated 382,640 women will receive a diagnosis this year alone. The numbers are sobering, but there is real reason for optimism. When breast cancer is caught early through screening, the 5-year relative survival rate is over 99%. Keep reading to learn how screening works, who is at higher risk, which symptoms to watch for, and what support is available.
Why Screening Matters
Advances in screening, research, and treatment methods have helped reduce breast cancer death rates by 44% since 1989. Women who get screened regularly are 26% less likely to die of the disease than those who do not receive screenings.
Several tests can reveal abnormalities in the breast. Your health provider can perform a clinical breast exam during an office visit by physically examining your breasts. Mammograms are recommended for women 40 and older, as well as for those at higher risk. A mammogram uses low-dose X-rays to capture images of breast tissue and can often spot cancer before a lump can be seen or felt.
If your provider finds an area that needs further attention during a screening, or if you have symptoms that align with breast cancer, you may be referred to a specialist to perform additional tests to confirm diagnosis.
Who Is at Higher Risk?
Breast cancer doesn’t always have a clear cause, but certain factors raise the odds. You’re considered high risk, and should be screened regularly, if any of the following apply:
You’ve had breast cancer before
Breast cancer runs in your family history
You carry a genetic mutation linked to higher risk, such as a BRCA gene change
You received chest radiation therapy before age 30
Symptoms to Watch For
Although rare, men can get breast cancer as well since all people are born with some breast cells and tissue. Everyone should know the warning signs. The most frequent sign is a new lump or mass, although most lumps turn out to be noncancerous. A lump that is hard, painless, and irregular in shape is more suspicious, but cancerous lumps can also be soft, round, tender, or painful.
Other signs include:
Swelling in all or part of a breast, even without a lump
Dimpled skin that resembles an orange peel
Red, dry, flaky, or thickened skin on the breast or nipple
Breast or nipple pain
A nipple that turns inward
Nipple discharge that isn’t breast milk
Swollen lymph nodes under the arm or near the collarbone
Having one of these symptoms doesn’t mean you have cancer. Hormonal changes and benign breast conditions can cause many of them. Try not to panic, and let your provider help you figure out what’s going on and what to do next.
Life After a Diagnosis
Breast cancer statistics can be frightening, but there is also hope in the numbers.
Roughly 66% of breast cancers are found early, before spreading beyond the breast, when treatment is typically more successful.
For cancers caught at this localized stage, the 5-year relative survival rate exceeds 99%.
More than 4 million breast cancer survivors are living in the United States today.
These figures highlight why proactive screening is so important: it gives you the best chance of finding and treating cancer at its earliest stage.
How Amoskeag Health Can Help
Amoskeag Health is a Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (BCCP) screening site for the State of NH providing free breast and cervical cancer screening to eligible patients. An Amoskeag Health Nurse provides education, support, and assistance to navigate through the program’s options. The cancer screening program is supported by funding from the State of NH’s Department of Health and Human Services BCCP Program and Dartmouth Hitchcock’s NH Colorectal Cancer Screening Program. Please talk to your Primary Care Provider for more information.
If you’ve recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and want help coping with the stress and emotions of treatment, Amoskeag Health’s Behavioral Health Clinicians are also available to support your mental health.
To learn more about Amoskeag Health’s screening services, click here.
