I always fill out the forms quickly in the doctor’s waiting room. Do you have a history— No. Have you ever— No. I didn’t have a family history of breast cancer or any cancer. But a year ago this past December, my mother was diagnosed and ended up receiving a double mastectomy. The key is… Read more »
Breast Cancer
“Cancer does not grow too much; it dies too little,” states Robert Nagourney, MD. You can think about cancer cells as normal cells becoming immortal. Apoptosis is the process in which normal functioning cells are programmed to die. In cancer cells, this mechanism is over-ridden so the cell malfunctions and continues to grow, thus… Read more »
Breast MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) is an extremely helpful, non-invasive imaging tool used to evaluate mammographic abnormalities and identify early breast cancer, especially in women at high risk. An MRI does not involve radiation exposure and does not replace screening mammography. Instead it provides a powerful supplementary tool for detecting and staging breast cancer. What… Read more »
As of April 1, 2013, California law requires that all women receive a notification if their mammogram reveals dense breast tissue. While receiving this notification may lead to confusion at first, the information is provided to empower women. Dense breast tissue has been shown to be associated with a slight increase in breast cancer, and… Read more »
Breast cancer steals the lives of over 40,000 people a year despite the enormous amount of new research and continued evolution of treatments. Bottom line, prevention remains the single best approach. Regular screening for breast masses is unanimously recommended by every primary care doctor in this country. That said, the most common screening tool, mammography,… Read more »
Each October during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, women are reminded of the importance of having a mammogram to aid in early breast cancer detection. Mammograms are essentially an X-ray of the breast while it is compressed. These images are used to detect abnormalities including breast cancer that may not be apparent to you or… Read more »
