Speaker: Eva Duckett, MD
What are the current recommendations for mammograms and why are mammograms important?
Eva Duckett, MD: So what are the current recommendations for mammograms and why are mammograms important? Currently, the recommendations for women at average risk are age 40 and every year thereafter, you're gonna hear a lot of things in the media about that. But the current and standard recommendation is age 40 and every year thereafter, women at higher risk or who have some special risk factors may have a different screening schedule than the average woman. Why are mammograms important? They are preventative for early detection and we really want to catch that cancer early before it has a chance to spread and do all the bad things, you know. So we definitely wanna catch it at its earliest stage that makes treatment a lot easier. And also it's a lot easier on the patient and much more chance of getting a cure.
What are ways women can reduce their risk of developing breast cancer?
Eva Duckett, MD: So what are some ways that women can reduce their risk of getting breast cancer? Unfortunately, just by virtue of being a woman, we're all at risk. So I don't think that your risk is zero just because you don't have this disease in your family. About 75% of the women that we diagnose with breast cancer have no risk factors or any reason to be considered high risk. But of course, there are some things you can do to try to even and that is just living a healthy lifestyle, a healthy diet, exercise. Those things are actually very good at preventing all different types of cancer and not just for us. So try to live as healthy a lifestyle as possible. And we have found that women who do live a healthier lifestyle, even if they do get a diagnosis, they actually tend to do much better with treatment and recovery.
What are some things women can do to stay on top of their health?
Eva Duckett, MD: So what are some things that you can do to stay on top of your health, especially your breast health. My advice is always be your own advocate. Do all of your screenings, do your breast self exams. We always have a tendency to put ourselves on the back burner and to not be proactive about our health. So I'm here to encourage you to be proactive about your health. Make sure you get all those screenings that you need. A lot of the forms of breast cancer are actually not something that you would feel or even see a change in your skin. So the mammogram is very, very important as one of your screening exams. So make sure you get that. But my best advice is just be your own advocate and take care of yourself so that you can take care of everybody else.
