By Tammy McCausland
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Most of us know someone, directly or indirectly, who has breast cancer, is a survivor or who succumbed to the disease.
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation (BCAF), 360,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.1 The BCAF website also says “Advancements in early detection methods and support continue to increase the chances of survival. When caught in its earliest, localized stages, the 5-year relative survival rate of breast cancer is 99%.”1
Breast cancer screening guidelines have changed. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) updated its guidelines in 2024. The USPSTF now recommends that beginning at age 40 all women should get screened every other year.2 Women with a family history or those at higher risk should begin getting screening earlier.2 The American College of Radiology (ACR) recommends that all women begin talking to the their doctor about individual breast cancer risk at age 25 and begin annual screening at age 40.3
The ACR also highlights that Black, Jewish and Hispanic women are at greater risk.3 In an article titled “Black Women and Breast Cancer: Why Disparities Persist and How to End Them,” the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) explore reasons for the poorer outcomes for Black women, including citing some major studies. The article explains that the reasons are complex and multifactorial: “Social, economic, geographic, and lifestyle factors may partially account for disparities. Black women are statistically more likely to have diabetes, heart disease, and obesity, and are less likely to breastfeed after childbirth—all of which are risk factors for breast cancer. They are more likely than white women to have inadequate health insurance or access to health care facilities, which may affect screening, follow-up care, and completion of therapy.”4
The American Cancer Society (ACS) is undertaking a groundbreaking initiative called VOICES of Black Women. The ACS aims to enroll 100,000 women aged 25–55 who haven’t have cancer and track an array of factors over decades. The ACS calls VOICES “a collective commitment to understanding and improving the health of Black women across the?nation.”5?
The CDC provides valuable information about the causes of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.6 Genetic testing for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer is also possible.7
Treatment for breast cancer includes surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy.8 Immunotherapy is also being integrated into breast cancer treatment for some women.9
October is the month of pink—we don a pink ribbon, dress up in pink, celebrate pink and run/race for the cure in pink. But it’s important to remember that breast cancer strikes women every day in the U.S. and around the world.
Educate and remind the women in your life—young and old—that prevention (in the form of breast self-exams, mammograms, and genetic testing as needed) is worth a pound of cure.
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