How often should women be check for breast cancer?
There are some determining factors for how often women should be checked for breast cancer. Most women are aware of the need to be checked regularly for breast cancer, but not every woman knows how often. Women should get regular checkups for the main reason that checkups and screening can spot breast cancer before there are any symptoms.
For most women, regular checkup include self-exams, doctors exams and mammograms. The self-exam should be done monthly, and by yourself. Lets face it you should know more how your breasts should feel than a doctor. Many women do a self-exam at the same time as their monthly cycle. It may help some women to check their breast a few days after their period, if they get tender breasts during their period. Starting monthly self breast exams early in life, suggested age 20 years old, makes it is easier for a woman to know when there is a new or changed lump that will need to be check by a doctor.
|
|
Many women even do the self-exam in the shower. This may not be the best idea to do all the time as it is recommended to look at the shape and color of your breast in the mirror during your self-exam. If you do not have a monthly cycle or the cycle changes, do your self-exams at the same time each month.
Most women will also need to be checked for breast cancer by getting a mammogram. It is recommended that women over the age of 40 get a mammogram every 1-2 years. A women' s doctor will better be able to help a women to decide if she needs the mammogram every year or every other year.
Mammograms may be uncomfortable, but they are very useful in detecting lumps that may be cancerous. A mammogram can detect a lump in a breast the size of a small seed. A self-exam will typically detect a lump that is about an inch big. So getting mammograms when recommended which is every 1-2 years after the age of 40 is important in preventing breast cancer.
Another checkup most women will need is a visit to the doctor office. A doctor's exam is recommended every 1-2 years for women age 20 and over. It is also recommended to try and go to the same doctor for these exams.
There are some women that will need to go in for doctor exams and mammograms earlier and more often. These women are those that have a family history of breast cancer. For the women who have breast cancer in their family, family includes mothers, aunts, daughters or sisters with breast cancer that are blood related. If a woman's family had breast cancer before the age of 40, a woman will need to go in and talk to her doctor when she is about 20 years old and decide how often a mammogram should be done. Most cased they will need to be done every year starting at a bout age 30.
When women get regular check ups and can catch breast cancer the breast cancer is less likely to be fatal. More than 90 out of 100 women who get breast cancer and catch it early will be cured. Regular checkups for breast cancer can help save a lot of women's lives. Remember that starting at age 20 women should do monthly self-exams and see a doctor every 1-2 years. At least by age 40 get mammograms every 1-2 years and earlier if your family has a history of breast cancer. Know what your breasts feel and look like so that you can be among the women that have early detection of breast cancer.
