breast cancer screening
Early detection of breast and cervical cancer saves women's lives. The YWCA offers a national program called ENCOREplus®-a breast and cervical cancer program that provides outreach, education and screening mammograms to women who are most in need and lack access to needed breast health services. The program is run by women for women, through the YWCA. Free services include education about breast and cervical cancer and referrals for low-cost or free screening exams.
Contact your local YWCA to find out if they have an ENCOREplus® program in place.
If you don't have access to a YWCA association or ENCOREplus® program, it is important to seek out information about screening services offered in your community. These may be found through your doctor's office, phone book, or online. The earlier that breast cancer is found, the more likely it is that the cancer can be curable. For this reason, screening for breast cancer is usually done using mammograms, clinical breast exams and self-breast exams.
Mammograms
Screening mammograms are simply x-rays of each breast. The breast is placed between two plates for a few seconds while the x-rays are taken. If something appears abnormal, or better views are needed, magnified views or specially angled films are taken during the mammogram. Mammograms often detect tumors before they can be felt and they can also identify tiny specks of calcium that could be an early sign of cancer. Regular screening mammograms can decrease the mortality of breast cancer by 30%. The majority of breast cancers are associated with abnormal mammographic findings. Woman should get a yearly mammogram starting at age 40 (although some groups recommend starting at 50), and women with a genetic mutation that increases their risk or a strong family history may want to begin even earlier.
Clinical Breast Exam
Between the ages of 20 and 39, every woman should have a clinical breast exam every 3 years; and after age 40 every woman should have a clinical breast exam done each year. A clinical breast exam is an exam done by a health professional to feel for lumps and look for changes in the size or shape of your breasts. During the clinical breast exam, you can learn how to do a self-breast exam.
Self Breast Exam
Every woman should do a self-breast exam once a month, about a week after her period ends. If you find any changes in your breasts, you need to contact your doctor. About 15% of tumors are felt but cannot be seen by regular mammographic screening.
There are some experimental screening modalities that are currently being studied. These include MRI, ductal lavage, ultrasound, optical topography, PET scan, and digital mammograms.
(Source: http://www.lbl.gov/Education/ELSI/screening-main.html)
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