Breast Cancer Articles:

ASK THE EXPERT COLUMN

PARENTING OC MAGAZINE

DR. LISA CURCIO

QUESTION:

I am a 35-year-old mother of two young children who has a history of breast cancer in the family (my mother and my aunt are breast cancer survivors). Because of this, I know I am more at risk. Is there anything I can do in addition to yearly mammograms?

ANSWER:

Family history does convey an increased risk for breast cancer. However, further details need to be known before we know how high that risk is. Risk reduction strategies will depend on the level of risk. Knowing how many other family members had breast cancer or ovarian cancer, and their ages of diagnosis would give additional information. Also knowing your ethnic background is helpful.  For instance, if both your mother and aunt developed pre-menopausal breast cancer (age < 50), this confers higher risk to you than if they had breast cancer later in life.  You must remember that only 5-7% of all breast cancers are what we call hereditary. Women with hereditary breast cancer actually inherit a gene that predisposes them to develop breast cancer at an early age. This inherited gene also may predispose you to develop ovarian cancer. Women of Jewish ancestry have a higher risk of having this gene. Risk for breast cancer is a complex equation that takes into consideration your family history of breast and ovarian cancer and your ethnic background. Also, there are individual factors that may alter that risk for you outside of family history: age your periods started, age of your first child, previous breast biopsies in the past and whether they had atypical cells. A breast specialist can help you sort out how high your risk is.

Risk reduction can be very conservative or very aggressive depending on the level of risk. Most women have low to intermediate risk and we recommend the following: breast exam by a physician once per year, yearly mammograms starting at age 40, and lifestyle modifications. Lifestyle things that we can change include avoiding things like smoking and alcohol (one daily glass of alcohol increases breast cancer risk), healthy dietary habits and regular exercise. If the risk is higher things like breast MRI would be advised. If a member of your family was diagnosed at a young age, your first mammogram should be done 10 years earlier than their age of diagnosis. Your risk reductions strategies should be individualized depending on your level of risk.

Visit "Advanced Breast Care Specialists of Orange County"  in Mission Viejo, California.

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