Moderate Risk
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Elevated Risk
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7
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IdMags®
What your answers reveal—
and what to do next
Low Risk
Continue seeing your
doctor once a year for a
clinical (manual) breast
exam. Ask how often
you should be going for
a mammogram— the
old advice of every
year starting at age 40
might not apply to you.
Your doctor will likely
discuss the benefits
of mammograms
(early detection of
malignancies) and the
drawbacks (radiation
exposure, risk of false
positives) to develop a
screening schedule that
reflects your priorities
and concerns. Another
suggestion is to perform
occasional self-exams—
not necessarily to
find problems, but to
familiarize yourself with
the normal look and
feel of your breasts, says
Robert Legare, M.D.,
director of the Cancer
Risk Assessment and
Prevention Program
at Women & Infants
Hospital of Rhode Island
in Providence. And no
matter how low your risk,
alert your doctor right
away if you experience
warning signs such as
lumps, bumps, nipple
discharge, skin changes,
or unusual pain.
Moderate Risk
Chances are you're
facing a few risk factors
that aren’t within your
control, such as age:
'‘The average woman’s
risk of getting breast
cancer is .2 percent in her
40s; it’s 5 percent in her
70s,” explains Katherine
Lee, M.D., an assistant
professor of surgery at the
Cleveland Clinic Breast
Center in Cleveland. Still,
plenty of women in this
category never get breast
cancer, so it pays to focus
on what you
can
control:
Work out for 30 minutes
at least three times a
week— research suggests
vigorous exercise
(jogging, aerobics) has
a protective hormonal
benefit on top of keeping
weight in check. Because
preliminary studies link
a high-fat diet to breast
cancer risk, do stick
to fresh produce, lean
protein, and whole grains
as much as possible.
Alcohol intake may also
up breast cancer risk;
play it safe and limit
consumption to a drink
or two a week. Finally,
review with your doctor
how often you need a
mammogram— if you’ve
been getting screened less
often than once a year, it
might be time to increase
the frequency.
Elevated Risk
If breast or ovarian
cancer runs in your
family, consider genetic
testing to find out
if you’ve inherited a
mutation in the gene
BRCAl or BRCA2 (which
can contribute to both
cancers). Women who
test positive have an
85-90 percent lifetime
risk of developing
breast cancer. “ Heredity
trumps every other risk
factor,” notes Dr. Legare.
Find a genetic specialist
at the National Society
of Genetic Counselors
website at NSGC.org.
Even if you test negative,
high-risk status warrants
close monitoring— your
doctor likely will advise
rotating a mammogram
with a breast MRI every
six months. You also
might be a candidate for
chemoprevention (taking
an anticancer drug to
help thwart the disease)
or prophylactic surgery
(removing breasts and/
or ovaries before cancer
can occur). Your doctor
can work with you to
determine the best
course of action. Just
don’t lose sight of what
you can do on your own,
Dr. Legare says. See the
“ moderate risk” section
at left for simple lifestyle
measures that can
optimize your health. ■
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BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS |
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