Breast Health and Preventative Care

As we're halfway through the year, it's a great time for women to check in on their breast health. So joining us now with more on the importance of exams and care is Dr. Lauren Wark, a breast cancer surgeon. Dr. Wark, thank you so much for joining us. And I know I said women, but men as well, they have to pay attention to their breasts and the health. So when should people start screening and what should we all look out for? Well, first of all, thank you, Marissa, for having me. Yes, it is time every month to check your breasts. I think the easiest thing to do is pick a day on the calendar and start doing your breast exam on that day every month. The shower is the easiest place and there's no wrong way to do it. So just feel and get to kind of know your own tissue. And then if something's different or abnormal, then just make a call to your doctor. And as for mammograms, we recommend starting at age 40, unless you have a family history. And speaking of the family history, if you don't have a family history of breast cancer, are you considered low risk? And if so, when should you start the examinations? Great question. So 85% of breast cancer is in women that have no family history. So I often hear in my office, women say to me, well, I don't need to get a mammogram. Nobody in my family has breast cancer. Well, that's 85% of what we see. So if you don't have any family history, you should start at 40. My personal recommendation is at 35, get that baseline and then start your annuals at 40. And then if you do have a family history, then that can get more tricky if you're higher risk. And sometimes in those cases, we start even younger. Gotcha. I've been one in the past that would say, well, I don't have family history. And you said over 80% say the same thing and they can end up with an issue. So what should you do in between those annual examinations? Good. So you need to do your monthly exams. Like I said, pick a date on the calendar and do that in the shower. It's the easiest way to kind of feel the tissue. And then the other thing is make sure you get your annual wellness checkup. That is really important for your overall health. And so at that time, you can address any concerns there. And then that keeps you covered pretty much year over year. What do you want men to know specifically when it comes to breast? Well, I think it's important for men to know they can get breast cancer. That's the first thing, because most men dismiss a lump on their chest and never even think that it could be breast cancer. So if there is a lump on the chest in the breast area, please get it checked out because men with breast cancer do really, really well. They do just as well as women with it. The problem is they're often diagnosed later because they've ignored it. So I think that most important thing is to know that even though it's only one percent of breast cancer, if you are a man and you find something in that breast area, please get it checked out. You just kind of dispelled one of the misconceptions out there that I believe people have when it comes to breast cancer. Are there any others you would like to put to bed this morning? I love that you're giving me that chance. Yes, I would say please go get your mammograms. They do save lives. Women often come up with a lot of excuses why they think they're unsafe or dangerous or they hurt. And I would just love to put to bed. Please do it because even the momentary discomfort is so much better than getting a diagnosis of breast cancer and having to go through that treatment. So please go get your annual imaging. Dr. Ward, thank you so much for that life saving call to action and all this information. We certainly, certainly appreciate it. Thank you.