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In spite of current screening practices, most lumps are found by women during self exams
Early detection is the key to improved survival
Understanding your risk will allow for a more informed management of your breast health
It is important to understand that screening for benign breast
disease is not the same as breast cancer screening and diagnosis. Risk
assessment does not take the place of routine screening and diagnosis of breast
abnormalities.
Simply stated, risk assessment is defined as the process of evaluating whether
a woman has any traits that increase her chance of developing breast cancer
within a certain number of years. Cellular changes found in Nipple Aspirate
Fluid (NAF) fluid are one such trait. Should a woman have an elevated risk, her
doctor may counsel her in lifestyle changes or recommend additional tests or
breast cancer screenings to more closely evaluate and manage her breast health.
Screening is generally defined as the systematic testing of asymptomatic
individuals for the early detection of cancer in people with no symptoms of the
disease. All women, regardless of their risk assessment, should undergo routine
screening as recommended by their doctors. The widespread acceptance of the
clinical breast exam and mammography as appropriate screening modalities, which
began in the 1960s, has led to approximately 33 million annual screening
procedures in the United States. Yet the mortality rate from breast cancer has
only dropped modestly.
The case for breast cancer risk assessment and effective, early breast cancer
screening is compelling. However, no one method has been shown to be without
limitations.
