Early detection of breast cancer key message during month of October
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and it’s a chance to remember that early detection can save lives.
“Often, mammograms are going to find a cancer before you can feel it,” Lauren Jager, Mammography Supervisor at Providence Imaging Center, said on Tuesday. “And so if they’re able to find a cancer when it’s in its early stages, then you have a lot better treatment options, lot better prognosis. It’s just much better to catch things early.”
Jager says the current recommendation is that all women start getting mammograms at the age of 40, but if you have a close relative who got breast cancer early in life you might need to start before that.
She points out that just because no one in your family has had breast cancer doesn’t mean you’re not at risk.
“So about 85% of the people who get breast cancer do not have a family history,” Jager said. “People who have a family history may be more likely to develop breast cancer, but the majority of breast cancers that are found are not because the person had a family history.”
Listen to the full interview above.
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