 Breast Surgeon |
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 FACT: More than 200,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and about 40,000 women will die from it. "Early detection is the best protection to reduce those numbers," reports Dr. Linsey Gold, a renowned breast surgeon and the region's only fellowship-trained breast surgeon. Dr. Gold reminds women to obtain an annual clinical breast exam from your primary care physician, and "remember the importance of breast self-exams. About 1/4th of women find a lump themselves through a breast self-exam." Dr. Gold also provides this information to help dispel the many myths about breast cancer. |
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Myth: |
Young women do not get breast cancer. |
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Fact: |
Breast cancer can occur at any age. Dr. Gold reports that one out of 2,212 women are diagnosed with breast cancer by the age of 30. "The risk increases as we age. By age 40, one in 235 women are diagnosed with breast cancer; and by age 50 that statistic increases to one out of 54," the renowned breast surgeon reports. | |
Myth: |
A negative mammogram means you don't have breast cancer. | |
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Fact: |
About 10 percent to 15 percent of breast cancers are missed on a mammography, Dr. Gold finds. "Some lumps can only be felt and not seen because the lump is so dense," she points out. | |
Myth: |
Finding a lump is the only way a woman can detect breast cancer. | |
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Fact: |
"Some cancers don't form a lump," Dr. Gold notes. Other symptoms, she reports, can be a discharge from one breast; inversion of a normally everted nipple; dimpling or a bulge in the breast; an itchy, irritated or scaly nipple; rapidly increasing pain with redness or a rash; rapid increase in the size of one breast; changes in the shape of the breast or a change in vein patterns in one breast. | |
Myth: |
No history of breast cancer in your family means you never have to worry. | |
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Fact: |
About 70 percent to 75 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease, Dr. Gold reports. Additionally, only 5 percent to 10 percent of breast cancers are hereditary. She also points out that "a father's family history is equally important. Family history includes the two previous generations on both sides. Breast cancer can skip a generation," she notes. | |
Myth: |
The most important risk factor is the number of relatives who have breast cancer. | |
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Fact: |
"Age of occurrence is even more important," Dr. Gold announces. "Equally important is a family history of ovarian cancer." | |
Myth: |
All breast cancer patients receive the same treatment. | |
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Fact: |
"There is no cookie cutter treatment for breast cancer," Dr. Gold finds. Patients and their breast cancers are uniquely unique; each woman can be treated differently depending on many factors such as size and type of tumor, the spread of cancer to other sites, and a woman's age and overall health. "Just as every woman is unique, so is the method of treatment we choose," the renowned breast surgeon emphasizes. | |
Myth: |
Breast cancer is the #1 enemy of women. | |
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Fact: |
If detected early, breast cancer usually can be treated successfully, Dr. Gold tells women. More women will die each year from cardiac disease, she notes. | |
Myth: |
High risk women cannot do anything to reduce their risk of breast cancer. | |
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Fact: |
High risk women can take many steps to help reduce their risk, Dr. Gold advises. For example, they can maintain ideal body weight, eat a healthy diet low in fat, exercise regularly, stop smoking, drink alcohol in moderation, have a regular breast exam with their family doctor, conduct breast self-exams monthly, have a mammogram at least once a year (as directed by their family physician), and possibly begin chemoprevention (certain medications that may help reduce the risk of breast cancer) if they are at high enough risk. | |
For more information on breast cancer prevention and treatment, call Dr. Gold at (810) 606-5017. |
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