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Believe it or not, 2004 marks the 20th year for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The program dedicated to increasing awareness about the disease started as a weeklong campaign in 1985. The work is far from over.
According to the American Cancer Society, every three minutes a woman in the US is diagnosed with breast cancer. It's clear that early detection and treatment is the key to surviving the disease. When the cancer is confined to the breast, the survival rate after five years is 97 percent. Doctors say the single most important tool in detecting breast cancer is still mammography.
"Equipment dedicated to mammography has only been around for approximately 30 years." says Dennis Sousley, director of Radiology at Saint Joseph Health Center and St. Mary's Hospital of Blue Springs. "Mammography is safe and highly accurate and the technology keeps getting better and better. It used to be that the cancer would be detected when a woman found a lump in her breast, but with mammography, cancer too small for a woman to feel can be detected."
The American Cancer Society recommends that women age 40 and over get a mammogram every year. But research has shown only a fraction of women who need mammograms actually get them every year. The reasons are unclear, but Saint Joseph Health Center and St. Mary's Hospital are working to make it easier for women to follow the recommendation.
"We've expanded services at both hospitals," says Sousley. "So when a woman does make the call to get a mammogram scheduled, she can get in quickly-within a day or two. It's easier to put it off or forget about it if you have to wait weeks to get in."
Doctors warn it's important for women to remember that even if their mammogram finds something abnormal, it does not necessarily mean cancer. In fact, eight out of ten lumps are benign, or not cancerous. Saint Joseph Health Center and St. Mary's Hospital offer the Mammotome biopsy system. It is a minimally invasive, image-guided procedure requiring one small incision in the breast. It can be performed under local anesthetic in about an hour.
"We also make every effort to get the biopsy scheduled right away," says Sousley. "The wait for a biopsy can be agony, so it's important to not let them wait."
To schedule a mammogram call 816-943-4799 at Saint Joseph Health Center, or 816-655-5515 at St. Mary's Hospital of Blue Springs.
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