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Cancer - breast; Carcinoma - ductal; Carcinoma - lobular
Many risk factors -- such as your genes and family history -- cannot be controlled. However, a healthy diet and a few lifestyle changes may reduce your overall chance of cancer in general.
Breast cancer is more easily treated and often curable if it is found early.
Early detection involves:
Most experts recommend that women age 20 and older examine their breasts once a month during the week following the menstrual period.
Women between the ages 20 and 39 should have a doctor examine their breasts at least once every 3 years. After age 40, women should a clinical breast exam every year.
Mammography is the most effective way of detecting breast cancer early.
Screening recommendations:
Questions have been raised about the benefit of screening mammography in women under age 50 and over the age of 69. Annual mammograms in women between 50 and 69 have been show to save lives. But while screening can also detect early breast cancer in younger and older women, it has not been shown to save lives.
This is a topic filled with controversy. A woman needs to have an informed and balanced discussion with her doctor, along with doing additional reading and researching on her own, to determine if mammography is right for her.
Women at very high risk for breast cancer may consider preventive (prophylactic) mastectomy, which is the surgical removal of the breasts. Possible candidates for this procedure may include those who have already had one breast removed due to cancer, women with a strong family history of breast cancer, and persons with genes or genetic mutations that raise their risk of breast cancer.
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