Local doctor talks breast cancer, preventive measures

While the doctors at Central Arkansas Women's Group do not provide treatment for women diagnosed with breast cancer, they do help women with preventive measures and screenings.

The newest doctor at the clinic, Dr. Lane Aughenbaugh, recently spoke with The Saline Courier about breast cancer and what preventative measures women can take.

Breast cancer is the number one diagnosed cancer in females and number two leading cause of cancer deaths in females, she noted.

While breast cancer is not completely preventable, there are some things that woman can decrease their risk including breast feeding.

Risk factors for breast cancer include obesity and smoking. Preventive measures women can take including having a healthy lifestyle and seeing a doctor regularly for screenings to be preformed.

Recently, she has received questions from patients about ultrasounds for breast tissue, but she noted that mammograms are still the preferred screening.

“We recommend any woman, starting at age 40, begin their annual mammograms,” she said, adding that this screening is available at Saline Memorial Hospital as an outpatient procedure. The hospital also offers a 3D mammogram which is more sensitive and can detect small lesion.

The doctors also recommend patients practice “breast self awareness.”

“If you notice any lumps in your breast, any masses under your arms or around your neck that aren't going away, any skin changes, nipple changes, nipple discharge, pain that is not going away, then notify your healthcare provider,” Aughenbaugh said.

She said it also extremely important for people to be aware of their family history including history of all cancers which can increase their risk for breast cancer.

“Any time we have a patient come in, we get a thorough family history and then we just access the risk factors to see if they could be someone who requires genetic screening,” she said.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the BRCA gene test is a blood test that use DNA analysis to identify harmful changes in either one of the two breast cancer susceptibility genes.

The Central Arkansas Women's Group is currently accepting new patients. They can be contacted at 501-8470834.