TYH: Importance of Mammograms for Early Cancer Detection

Oct 17, 2017 | 11:38 PM

They can detect cancer earlier than a physical exam, and can save lives by finding breast cancer early. On today’s To Your Health, Catherine Hansen reports on the importance of mammograms for women over the age of 40.

 

(Announcer:) And now, “To Your Health”. Brought to you by Hart Drugs, Third Avenue Pharmacy and the Phoenix Pharmacy.

(Reporter Catherine Hansen:) It is quick medical exam that uses a non-invasive X-ray targeted to each breast.  A mammogram produces pictures that your doctor can use to identify and treat any abnormal areas, possibly indicating the presence of cancer.

(Dr. Karen Seland – Radiologist, UNHBC:) “The earlier we can detect a cancer,  then the better the outcome. So if we wait for women to feel a mass or change in the skin or change in the nipple.  You wait that long, the outcomes tend to not be as good.”

(Hansen:) While women with a family history of breast cancer have a higher than average risk, the biggest risk factor for breast cancer is being a woman over 50 years of age.

(Seland:) “Women in BC are eligible between the ages of 40 and 74.  We obviously ask them to make an informed decision with their family doctor.  But that’s the group that we want to see and that we want to come in.”

(Hansen:) Screening mammograms are considered the international gold standard for detecting breast cancer early. Mammograms can usually find lumps 2 or 3 years before a woman or her primary care provider can feel them.

(Seland:) “You don’t even need to be referred by your family doctor.  We have a number right here at the hospital, you can call and book directly.”

(Hansen:) With exposure to a very low dose of radiation, the benefits of regular mammograms outweigh the risks. To your health, Catherine Hansen, CKPG News.

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