If you don't worry about breast cancer because you think you're too young, you probably should. Younger women can be affected, too. Besides, your good habits today may prevent dire consequences in the coming years. Early detection can save not only your life but your breasts; treatment for early-stage cancer often involves a simple lumpectomy (removal of the suspicious lump) instead of a painful and disfiguring mastectomy (removal of the entire breast and often significant surrounding tissue).
Certainly, the risk is relatively low for young women: Approximately one of every 100,000 women in their early 20s is diagnosed with breast cancer each year. But what if you're one of the unlucky few? Several of our young friends have been diagnosed with the disease lately, reminding us very painfully that it could happen to any of us. So taking the time to perform a serious self-exam monthly is certainly worthwhile.
The Best Defense: Early Detection
The bad news: The American Cancer Society says about 175,000 new cases of invasive breast cancer were diagnosed among women in the United States in 1999, and more than 43,000 deaths occurred from the disease. The good news: Breast-cancer mortality rates have been decreasing due to increased screening of women and more advanced techniques, such as digital mammography.
Mammography - a specialized X-ray of the breast - is currently the most effective way to detect breast cancer. "It's possible for mammograms to miss lumps deep inside the breast, but mammography has proven to be the only screening method that really reduces deaths from breast cancer because it can find small abnormalities in earlier breast cancers," says Lawrence W. Bassett, MD, FACR, director of the Iris Cantor Center for Breast Imaging at the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center and chairman of the Breast Task Force of the American College of Radiology. "I rarely see a patient with advanced breast cancer today, and when I do, it's a matter of neglect or denial," he notes.
Even though younger women generally don't get mammograms, they can be vigilant about monthly self-exams. "If a woman in that age group notices something in her breast, she should go see a doctor," Bassett advises, noting that such lumps are usually benign and just need to be checked with a simple needle biopsy. But for the exceptions, the lumps that turn out to be cancer, early detection is more critical for younger women. The Breast Cancer Research Foundation says younger women have a lower survival rate than older breast-cancer patients because their tumors are more aggressive and respond less to hormonal therapies.
Early detection is the best defense. "If you start teaching somebody early, like at 18, to do monthly breast exams 7-10 days after their period, they become familiar with their breasts," states Sherry Goldman, the nurse practitioner at the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center and an assistant clinical professor.
Prevention: How to Improve Your Odds
You may not be able to prevent breast cancer, but you can improve your odds of not getting it. Two key strategies: Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and be physically active. Premenopausal woman who exercise regularly have a lower risk of breast cancer, says Trudy Harris, the fitness consultant to the Revlon/UCLA Breast Center's High-Risk Program. "Exercise, an essential component in weight maintenance, is particularly important because studies indicate that the risk for breast cancer increases with weight gain over a woman's lifetime," she explains. Eating soy foods, such as tofu and soy protein, may decrease your risk. Excess alcohol consumption may increase your risk.
Breast Implants: Do They Increase Your Risk?
"There's absolutely no evidence that breast implants increase the risk of breast cancer," says David P. Rapaport, MD, a board-certified plastic surgeon based in Manhattan, New York. Yet he suggests, "If you're having breast implants done and you're 35 or older, you should have a mammogram first."
