When it comes to breast health, every year counts
Dr. Megan Krull McNeer is a breast radiologist affiliated with Memorial Hermann.
It’s easy to let preventive care slide when you’re feeling good, but maintaining your health for the future goes beyond eating well and exercising. Healthy habits should include annual preventive exams, and for women, that includes yearly screening mammograms. During Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and year-round, routine mammograms can help women lead long, healthy lives. Dr. Megan Krull McNeer, a breast radiologist affiliated with Memorial Hermann explains why yearly screenings are so important, whether or not you have symptoms or a family history of breast cancer.
Q: Why is it important to get an annual screening mammogram? A: In the U.S., one in eight women will develop breast cancer. It’s the most common cancer in women after skin cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. But if it’s caught early, and it’s localized to the breast, meaning it hasn’t spread beyond that, the fiveyear survival rate is 99 percent. Mammograms have reduced breast cancer mortality by approximately 40 percent since 1990, according to the American College of Radiology. Our goal is to catch breast cancers early before they spread elsewhere, which makes them harder to treat and can affect patients’ survival. Getting a yearly mammogram has been shown to reduce breast cancer-related deaths, and we’ve seen significant improvement in the survival rates since annual screening mammograms became standard practice.
Q: Who should be getting a mammogram, and how often?
A: According to the American Cancer Society, women age 40 and over should get yearly screening mammograms, regardless of family history or symptoms. That’s the recommendation for average-risk women; if you’re at high risk for breast cancer, you should begin having mammograms even earlier, as early as age 30. One thing I hear a lot from my patients is, ‘I have no breast cancer in my family, so I’m fine.’ Approximately 5 to 10 percent of cancers are hereditary, according to the American Cancer Society. This means that most breast cancers are sporadic; they have no known cause, genetic or otherwise. That’s why you still need your yearly mammogram, even if no one in your family has had breast cancer.
Aside from that, women should pay close attention to any changes in their breast, nipple or armpit. Symptoms like a lump, breast pain or nipple discharge, to name a few, need to be evaluated by your physician as well. If you have a normal mammogram in July, and in August you feel a lump in your breast, call your doctor, as additional imaging should be considered.
Q: What is a 3D mammogram? A: A 3D mammogram, also known as tomosynthesis, allows for more images compared to the traditional 2D imaging. We still take the same two views of each breast as you do in a 2D mammogram, but it allows for an additional 200 to 300 images. That enables the radiologist to see through the breast tissue better, increasing the cancer detection rate and decreasing the chance that a woman will have to return for additional images. We offer 3D imaging at all Memorial Hermann breast care locations. Q: What’s the difference between a screening mammogram and a diagnostic mammogram?
A: A screening mammogram is a standardized set of images of each breast, taken when you have no symptoms or concerns. A diagnostic mammogram is done to evaluate a specific concern or when an abnormality is observed on a patient’s yearly screening mammogram. It can be performed any time symptoms are observed, regardless of when you had your regular mammogram. Fewer than one in 10 women are recalled after their screening mammogram for additional pictures. If you do get called back, it doesn’t necessarily mean there’s something wrong; it just means we need more pictures to answer a clinical question. With the diagnostic mammogram, we take specific targeted images of the area of concern.
Q: What might prevent someone from getting a mammogram?
I think women can be fearful for a number of reasons when it comes to mammograms. They do get concerned about radiation exposure, but there’s very little exposure from mammograms. By far, your risk from radiation is minimal compared to the benefit of catching breast cancer early. And while discomfort varies from woman to woman, most women don’t find mammograms painful. For the most part, I think women are nervous about getting bad news, and that’s very understandable. At Memorial Hermann breast care locations, we work hard to help patients feel safe and comfortable, and make sure they are heard. I can completely understand the angst and fear of getting mammograms. The good news is the American Cancer Society reports that close to 90 percent of women will receive a normal radiology report.
Memorial Hermann offers early morning and evening appointments and 3D mammography at all breast care locations.
For an appointment, visit memorialhermann.org/mammo or call 877.40.MAMMO.