8 Frequently Asked Questions About Breast Cancer: Early Detection and Prevention

At The South Bend Clin­ic, we know that breast can­cer can bring up a lot of ques­tions, espe­cial­ly when it comes to screen­ing and under­stand­ing your risk. To help clear things up, we’ve gath­ered answers to some of the most com­mon concerns. 

1. When should I start get­ting mammograms? 

For most women, annu­al mam­mo­grams are rec­om­mend­ed start­ing at age 40. If you have a fam­i­ly his­to­ry of breast can­cer or oth­er risk fac­tors, your doc­tor may sug­gest begin­ning earlier. 

2. How often should I do a self-breast exam? 

Women of all ages are encour­aged to do self-breast exams once a month. If you’re still men­stru­at­ing, it’s best to do the exam a few days after your peri­od ends. For post-menopausal women, pick a con­sis­tent day each month, like the 1^st or 15^th, to check in. 

While mam­mo­grams can catch can­cer before a lump is notice­able, self-breast exams help you get famil­iar with how your breasts usu­al­ly look and feel, so you can spot any changes early. 

3. How do you per­form a self-breast exam? 

Self-breast exams let you stay in tune with your body and notice any changes more quick­ly, even though mam­mo­grams are designed to detect can­cer before you can feel it. Here are a few tips on how you can per­form a self-breast exam: 

In the Show­er:

Using flat fin­gers, gen­tly move them across your entire breast area, from your col­lar­bone to your abdomen and from your armpit to your cleav­age. Feel for any unusu­al lumps, thick spots, or areas that feel dif­fer­ent than usual. 

In Front of a Mir­ror:

Stand tall with your arms at your sides and check for any changes in the size, shape, or skin tex­ture of your breasts, like dim­pling or red­ness. Then, raise your arms and take anoth­er look. It’s also a good idea to gen­tly squeeze each nip­ple to check for any dis­charge, whether clear, milky, or bloody. 

Lying Down:

When you lie down, your breast tis­sue spreads out even­ly, mak­ing it eas­i­er to feel for any changes. Place a pil­low under your right shoul­der and rest your right arm behind your head. With your left hand, use small cir­cu­lar motions to gen­tly feel your entire breast, apply­ing dif­fer­ent pres­sure to check both the sur­face and deep­er tis­sue. Then, switch sides and repeat for your left breast. 

4. What are the biggest risk fac­tors for devel­op­ing breast cancer? 

Com­mon risk fac­tors include: 

• Age: The risk of breast can­cer goes up as you get older. 

• Fam­i­ly His­to­ry: Hav­ing close rel­a­tives with breast can­cer increas­es your risk. 

• Genet­ic Muta­tions: Inher­it­ed muta­tions, like BRCA1 and BRCA2, can sig­nif­i­cant­ly raise your chances of devel­op­ing breast cancer. 

• Hor­mon­al Fac­tors: Long-term expo­sure to estro­gen, such as start­ing your peri­od ear­ly or going through menopause late, can increase your risk. Keep in mind, full-term preg­nan­cies and lac­ta­tion are asso­ci­at­ed with reduced risk. 

• Lifestyle Choic­es: Smok­ing, drink­ing heav­i­ly, and not get­ting enough exer­cise also con­tribute to a high­er risk. 

5. Does hav­ing a fam­i­ly his­to­ry of breast can­cer mean I’m def­i­nite­ly going to get it? 

No, it doesn’t guar­an­tee you’ll get breast can­cer, but it does increase your risk. Genet­ic test­ing can help show if you car­ry muta­tions, like the BRCA gene, that could raise your risk even more. 

6. Can I low­er my risk of breast cancer? 

While you can’t con­trol cer­tain risk fac­tors like age or genet­ics, there are things you can do to low­er your risk. You can reduce your chances by: 

• Main­tain­ing a healthy weight 

• Exer­cis­ing regularly 

• Lim­it­ing alco­hol consumption 

• Quit­ting smoking 

• Eat­ing a nutri­ent-rich diet 

7. Are mam­mo­grams safe, and how often should I get them? 

Mam­mo­grams use low-dose X‑rays and are safe for reg­u­lar screen­ings. For women aged 40 and up, it’s usu­al­ly rec­om­mend­ed to get a mam­mo­gram every year. Keep in mind that your doc­tor may adjust this based on your indi­vid­ual risk factors. 

8. What should I do if my mam­mo­gram shows abnor­mal results? 

An abnor­mal mam­mo­gram doesn’t auto­mat­i­cal­ly mean can­cer! Some­times, it just means that fur­ther imag­ing or a biop­sy is need­ed for a clos­er look. Stay pos­i­tive, and don’t hes­i­tate to reach out to your doc­tor to dis­cuss the next steps. 

By stay­ing informed and proac­tive, you can take impor­tant steps toward pro­tect­ing your health. Sched­ule your annu­al mam­mo­gram appoint­ment today. The South Bend Clin­ic is here to guide you every step of the way.