Breast cancer is the second most common cancer women face second only to lung cancer and it is the most feared cancer or disease for most women.
Breast cancer occurs in about 12% of women who will live to the age of 90.
Several well-established factors increase the risk of breast cancer and they include family history, nulliparity (not having had children), early menarche (starting menstrual cycles early), advanced age and a personal history of breast cancer. Other risks include exposure to environmental toxins such as tobacco smoke that increase the chance for cancer growth.
Early education on the self-breast exam and early screening is extremely important in achieving good outcomes. Self-exam and physician examination will detect cancer at a rate between 70 to 80%. Adding screening mammography (mammograms) will increase detection to 96 - 98%. It has been shown that early detection through clinical exam and mammography can reduce breast carcinoma mortality by 20 to 30%. Today's gold standard for screening (mammograms) will still miss between 10 and 15% of neoplasm.
If a clinically noted mass is followed by a negative mammogram the workup should then include breast ultrasound and/or a fine needle aspiration cytology and close interval examinations.