The Importance Of Monitoring Your Own Breast Health After Breast Cancer Awareness Month – Wellbeing

Think Rose.

By Siera Nezaj

published: 2018.10.31 10:33

In October, breast cancer awareness month, it is important to note that even though pink signage can be replaced, the fight against breast cancer continues.

Rand J. Stack, MD, a radiologist from Westmed, and one of the doctors selected in our Top Doctors 2018 list, helps readers take control of their health through his recent article The Breast Health Checklist: Simple checklists to keep you organized, informed and in control. Stack, a specialist in mammography, breast imaging and breast biopsy, explains in this book easy to understand the risk factors and actions that can reduce your risk of breast cancer. It also explains the symptoms, the operation of the biopsies, the type of questions to ask your surgeon before the surgery, among the important factors to take into account in case of diagnosis.

Dr. Rand J. Stack and his new book, "The Checklist for Breast Health: Simple Checklists to Keep You Organized, Informed and in Control"

Stack explains his reasoning for the book's publication: "My goal was to create a practical, easy-to-understand reference guide that answers the most common questions women have about the health of their breasts." it states that the book does not attempt to become an encyclopedia of breast health information or a medical textbook: "The checklist format allows women to address a wide range of breast health issues. in an organized and thorough way. to treat a problem of breast, the Breast health reduce the patient's anxiety, give her a greater sense of self-confidence, and enable her to be a proactive participant in her own health care. "

Lyda E. Rojas, MD, FACS (left), is a licensed general surgeon who specializes in breast surgery and is the director of breast surgery at CareMount Medical and Putnam Hospital medical centers. Rojas says it's important to establish a regular breast self-examination to detect changes in a woman's breast to warn her health care provider. It is important to understand breast cancer and the latest medical advances that can help you defeat it. Rojas said: "The latest medical advances in breast cancer are related to targeted therapy."

After discussing with your doctor about your lifetime risk of developing breast cancer, Rojas states the following guidelines:

For women at medium risk (less than 15%), discuss with your doctor annual screening between 40 and 45 years old until the age of 54 years. Subsequently, depending on your risk, screening can be annual or biennial.

If your life expectancy beyond 75 years is considered greater than 10 years, the screening mammogram should continue.

For women at intermediate risk (15% to 20%), annual screening mammograms should start at age 40.

For women at high risk (greater than or equal to 20%), consider annual screening with mammography and MRI of breast with and without gadolinium at six months interval.

For women who have a family history of breast cancer at a young age, screening should begin 10 years earlier than the age of the diagnosed family member.