Cancer is scary. No one wants to hear the word and know their life has been inexplicably altered forever. It can be tempting to put off getting screened for cancer just so you don’t have to face the possibility of a diagnosis.
However, screening should be considered an important part of your overall health, just like your annual visit to a primary care provider or keeping up with your medications.
Breast Cancer Screening
It’s recommended that women start getting annual mammograms at age 40 to screen for breast cancer. If you have a family history of breast or other cancers, talk to your doctor about getting a mammogram at an earlier age.
With October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, IU Health officials are reminding people to get tested. While it is the most common in cancer for women, it can also occur in men. Several types of breast cancer can develop in different areas of the breast. Breast cancer is typically found by a mammogram or felt as a lump. Recently, breast density has emerged as an important factor in assessing a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer.
Breast Density Can Be a Risk Factor
Importantly, breast density is recognized as a risk factor for breast cancer. Breast density refers to the proportion of fibrous and glandular tissue compared to fatty tissue in a woman’s breasts, as seen on a mammogram. Women with higher breast density have more fibrous and glandular tissue, which can make it more difficult to detect cancer on a mammogram because both dense tissue and tumors appear white on the imaging. This overlap can mask potential abnormalities, increasing the risk of missed diagnoses.
Early Detection = Early Treatment
Ashley Dunkerly is a breast surgery nurse practitioner at the IU Health Joe & Shelly Schwarz Cancer Center in Carmel. She says they offer advanced screening options tailored for women with dense breasts. “A whole breast ultrasound, breast MRI and Fast MR,” she says. “A whole breast ultrasound uses sound waves to create images of the breast tissue, providing a different perspective that can highlight abnormalities not visible on a mammogram. Breast MRI, on the other hand, uses magnetic fields to generate detailed images of the breast, making it highly sensitive for detecting early-stage cancers.”
Dunkerly says another imaging option now includes abbreviated magnet resonance imaging, called Fast MR. The exam is similar to a traditional breast MR, however, is a shortened examination tailored for women who are not at high risk for developing breast cancer. These additional screening modalities can be ordered by OB/GYN or primary care providers on a routine basis, and patients do not have to see a breast specialist to do so.
These modalities are particularly valuable because most breast cancers cannot be felt during physical examinations, and symptoms often do not appear until the cancer is more advanced. Therefore, these additional screening tools are essential for catching cancer at an early, more treatable stage.
Understanding breast density and utilizing advanced screening methods are crucial steps in early breast cancer detection. For women who are at high risk of developing breast cancer, IU Health also offers a specialized High-Risk Breast Cancer Program.
