The pink ribbon is back. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It is critically important for women to receive a screening for breast cancer, and that screening process must include a mammogram.

A mammogram is an image of the breast. It is used to detect possible breast cancer.

Just like cameras have evolved from using film, today's "best practice" for mammography involves digital images rather than X-rays. In fact, according to a national study, digital mammograms have a 40 percent improvement rate of detecting abnormalities in dense breast tissue.

University of Iowa Health Care researchers helped lead the studies of digital mammography, and UI Hospitals and Clinics became the first health care center in Iowa with digital mammography technology.

Other advantages to digital mammography include:

• Special software enhances the images and helps doctors do a better job of diagnosing patients with cancer
• Digital images are easier to store, retrieve, and share among doctors
• Less radiation is required than in film mammography (although the doses used in standard mammography are low and considered very safe)

Things to know about getting a mammogram

The American Cancer Society has established recommendations about when women should receive mammograms. Those guidelines include:

• Women 40 years of age and older should have an annual mammogram and should continue to do so for as long as they are in good health.
• Women in their 20s and 30s should include a breast examination every year by a health professional as part of their health care.
• Ask your physician about the benefits of regular breast self-exams. Women should know how their breasts normally feel and immediately report any change to their health care provider.
• Women with a lifetime risk of 20 percent or higher for breast cancer should get an MRI and mammogram every year. Women at moderate risk (15 to 19 percent) should ask their health care provider about the pros and cons of adding an annual MRI. There is no evidence that MRI is an effective screening tool for women of average risk.
• For women at high risk, MRI screening should begin at age 30. An MRI should be used in addition to a mammogram, not in place of.
  

For more information about breast health, contact your primary care provider.

Did you know?

• Breast cancer is the number one diagnosed cancer among Iowa women
• Breast cancer affects men, too, just not nearly as many
• Cancer researchers in Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at The University of Iowa are actively searching for ways to prevent breast cancer, detect it in its earliest stages, and eventually find a cure

Reduce your risk for breast cancer

• Limit alcohol consumption to one drink per day
• Breastfeeding for at least one year over all pregnancies lowers breast cancer risk
• If you are at high risk, talk with your primary care physician about taking a Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM) such as tamoxifen or raloxifene
• Maintain a healthy postmenopausal body weight
• Consider gene testing, and/or prophylactic mastectomy if you have a strong family history of breast cancer
• Exercise (30 minutes per day)

What about self-exams?

Regular breast self-exams a good idea. In fact, paying attention to the health of your breasts is the most important prevention step. Knowing how your breasts normally feel and look can help you recognize when something has changed.

When change occurs, always notify your doctor immediately. These changes do not necessarily indicate breast cancer but an evaluation should be conducted just to make sure.

For more information

http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/uibreasthealth/breastcancer/index.html

http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/uibreasthealth/index.html