10-10-2014, 01:39 AM
During the NFL's annual "A Crucial Catch" campaign, football fans who don't know the sad facts about breast cancer should learn about it. I mean it is one thing to say at age 40, I need to start getting mammograms every year. But it is about more than just mammograms and self breast exams to find lumps. For all of the time spent saying, "Get a mammogram every year," women should also be hearing about how to prevent cancer from happening in the first place - or reduce the risk if it runs in the family. I am not hearing any of that. It seems like all people say is I need to get tested, as if there are no prevention methods of women without a family history of the disease.
I also think cancer awareness should include treatment options. Many women think they have to choose between a lumpectomy (just the cancer and surrounding tissues) or a mastectomy (the whole breast and surrounding lymph nodes). But do they? What about radiation and chemotherapy? I wonder if too many women have surgery and some of them should have known about other ways to get rid of it.
My older sister is a breast oncologist. She is 40 and said some patients are younger than her. So even if people limit the discussion to mammograms, they are not saying enough: women my age can get it. I can wait three years because I don't have a family history, but women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene need to get tested at age 35. I applaud all efforts to spread the word about mammograms, but just feel like too much money in spent talking about one aspect of the disease and there is so much more that should be discussed. The words "breast cancer awareness" should be about the whole spectrum of issues related to the disease, not just, "Get a mammogram."
That said, I cannot discount the importance of mammograms because often by the time a woman finds a lump on her own, it is too late - especially if she sees the lump. If you want to make me happy, tell every woman in your life - mom, aunt, sister, girlfriend, etc. - to get one. (Daughters under age 35 are excused.)
I also think cancer awareness should include treatment options. Many women think they have to choose between a lumpectomy (just the cancer and surrounding tissues) or a mastectomy (the whole breast and surrounding lymph nodes). But do they? What about radiation and chemotherapy? I wonder if too many women have surgery and some of them should have known about other ways to get rid of it.
My older sister is a breast oncologist. She is 40 and said some patients are younger than her. So even if people limit the discussion to mammograms, they are not saying enough: women my age can get it. I can wait three years because I don't have a family history, but women with the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene need to get tested at age 35. I applaud all efforts to spread the word about mammograms, but just feel like too much money in spent talking about one aspect of the disease and there is so much more that should be discussed. The words "breast cancer awareness" should be about the whole spectrum of issues related to the disease, not just, "Get a mammogram."
That said, I cannot discount the importance of mammograms because often by the time a woman finds a lump on her own, it is too late - especially if she sees the lump. If you want to make me happy, tell every woman in your life - mom, aunt, sister, girlfriend, etc. - to get one. (Daughters under age 35 are excused.)