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Breast cancer: your questions answered
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Breast cancer: your questions answered
By Dr. Virginia Herrmann
Last year, breast cancer surpassed lung cancer as the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world. Now, more than ever, it’s important to educate yourself about breast cancer, understand the risk factors and know what you can do for prevention and early detection. Read on for helpful answers to some of the most commonly asked questions regarding breast cancer.
How would someone be diagnosed with breast cancer?
If a woman feels a mass or lump, it always warrants a visit to the doctor. However, women are most commonly diagnosed today before any symptoms arise thanks to mammography. Through a yearly mammogram, cancer can be detected at the very earliest, microscopic stage called stage zero. This is when breast cancer is most treatable and why it is so important to be screened.
What factors increase your risk of breast cancer?
Two major risk factors include a personal history of breast cancer and a family history of breast cancer – even on your father’s side. Less commonly known, women whose menstrual periods started very early, around or before the age of 11, and women who have never had a full-term pregnancy are also at an increased risk.
If you’re at risk for breast cancer, what steps should you take for your prevention?
First, consider being evaluated at a high-risk clinic, like the one at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital or Progress West Hospital. A thorough evaluation can provide an actual risk percentage. If your risk is high enough, your doctor may recommend more frequent surveillance or an additional type of surveillance, such as an MRI scan or ultrasound. Leading a healthier lifestyle can lower your risk, and for high-risk women, there are medications that can actually lower it by 50%
For women with early-stage breast cancer, what are their treatment options?
With mammography as sophisticated as it is today, women are being diagnosed very early. In fact, at least 25% of women with breast cancer are diagnosed at stage zero. While treatment is tailored to each woman’s unique case, it often involves an outpatient surgery called a lumpectomy, which removes only the affected area. Some women may require medication or radiation therapy following surgery, but their outlook is excellent. If you’re 40 or older, don’t delay your annual mammogram. Early detection is vital in ensuring a positive outcome.
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Virginia Herrmann, MD, is a Washington University medical oncologist with an office on the campus of Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital. For more information, call 636-928-WELL.
Life-saving stroke procedure now available in St. Charles County
Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital is now the only hospital in St. Charles County to perform thrombectomy procedures, which have already proven to save lives. They are used on patients who have experienced a stroke caused by blockage of blood flow to the brain in one of the large vessels. The goal is to restore blood flow to the brain as quickly as possible so the patient isn’t left with any permanent damage.
On Nov. 4, 84-year-old retired Marine James Aumann became the first patient to undergo a thrombectomy procedure at Barnes-Jewish St. Peter’s Hospital. That morning his right side went limp and he wasn’t able to speak. He was soon rushed to Barnes-Jewish St. Peter’s Hospital.
“He was a dead man until this procedure,” his daughter Cindy Gilmer said. “He was not going to survive the stroke with any quality of life.”
Thankfully, within in two weeks the Maryland Heights resident was back home and once again fully independent – just in time for Thanksgiving and the holidays.
“Every minute counts because time is brain,” said Dr. Brendan Eby who’s a Washington University neurologist at Barnes-Jewish St. Peter’s Hospital. “Community access saves critical time for patients experiencing a stroke.”
Having thrombectomy available in St. Charles county is also significant because area stroke patients now no longer need to travel to Barnes-Jewish Hospital for this procedure – saving them time and possibly their life. Every 40 seconds someone in the United States has a stroke and one in every six deaths from cardiovascular disease is due to stroke.
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