Breast Cancer Awareness

In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Ziya Baghmanli, General Surgeon and medical staff member at Red Bud Regional Hospital, highlights the importance of this month.

American Cancer Society estimates that by the end of 2017, 252,710 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and an estimated 40,610 women will die from it. 

Dr. Baghmanli states, “While there is very little known to directly prevent breast cancer, increasing awareness and implementing evidence-based screening strategies will help to battle this disease while avoiding false-positive results known as overdiagnosis.” 

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends biennial screening mammograms for average risk women who are asymptomatic and between the ages of 50-74. Women with a parent, sibling, or child with breast cancer are considered a high-risk category and may benefit from screenings beginning in their 40s. Women with pre-existing breast cancer or a previously diagnosed high-risk breast lesion and who have an underlying genetic mutation (such as BRCA 1 or BRCA 2 gene mutation or other familial breast cancer syndrome) or a history of chest radiation at a young age, should have individual discussions with their physician regarding a screening/surveillance program. 

Red Bud Regional Hospital and Dr. Baghmanli urge women to make their mammogram appointments during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.