Breast Health

Early detection and surgical removal remains the only way that we can cure breast cancer. There has been some controversy about the benefit of self examination but nearly every clinician can offer support for this simple, painless and risk free test. Get in the habit of a self-exam a week after your menstrual cycle if you are premenopausal and on a regular and predictable basis if you have reached menopause.

If you think that "not knowing" about a lump is the same as "not having" a lump, you will want to have serious conversation with yourself about reality. Please don't fall into this common error an avoid doing the self-exam - it is important. After several self-exams, you will become confident and be able to detect any new abnormalities.

Here is the link to the current recommendations for breast cancer surveillance from the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF):
http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspsbrca.htm

Calculate your risk of developing breast cancer using the information on this valuable site: http://bcra.nci.nih.gov/brc/questions.htm

And this link outlines the USPSTF's conclusions regarding the use of medication to reduce the likelihood of breast cancer: http://guidelines.gov/summary/summary.aspx?ss=15&doc_id=3229&nbr=2455#s23

If you find a lump and you have a normal mammogram, you still want to get the lump evaluated. The mammogram is a screening test, not a diagnostic test. This is very important.