Mammography Screening

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Mammography screening & early detection Mammography is a very accurate screening tool for women at both average and increased risk; however, like any medical test, it is not perfect. Although the majority of women with an abnormal mammogram do not have cancer, all suspicious lesions that cannot be resolved with additional imaging should be biopsied for a definitive diagnosis. Breast cancer screening for women at average risk includes clinical breast exam and mammography. This screening tool can often detect breast cancer at an early stage, when treatment is more effective and a cure is more likely (cancersupporttexas.org, 2015). Statistics from the Centers for Disease Control shows that lack of mammography screening is the main cause of …show more content…

Medical statistics for Bronx County indicates that black women above 40 years of age experience a lower rate of cancer infection as compared to White Non-Hispanic women of the same age group. However, mortality rates show an inverse relationship between the same conclusions due to inequality in socioeconomic conditions. Research indicates that African American women tend to get diagnosed at a later age in comparison to their counterparts. The stages of breast cancer are indicated as a number from a scale of 0 through 4. Treatment types are also done according to each stage. The plans for the treatments are usually by personal choices and medical options. The first is DCIS (stage 0) meaning ductal carcinoma in situ, which is noninvasive breast cancer. Surgery is the first step in treating DCIS. It removes the abnormal tissue in the breast. Depending on how far the DCIS has spread within the milk ducts, surgery can be either mastectomy or lumpectomy, followed by radiation therapy for a lower risk of recurrence and finally hormone therapy with tamoxifen, which is usually unlikely (Ww5.komen.org, …show more content…

It has three subcategories known as IIIA, IIIB, and IIIC. Stage IIIA is described as invasive. In this stage it is considered advanced, which is harder to fight. In this subcategory the cancer is present in up to nine lymph nodes. It forms a chain that runs from the underarm to the collarbone. In another instance the cancer has spread or enlarged the lymph nodes, it would be deep in the breast. Stage IIIB is invasive breast cancer that is a tumor that has spread to the chest wall or the skin around the breast. Stage IIIC described as invasive that has cancer spread to more than ten lymph nodes (Breast Cancer, n.d.). Treatment for locally advanced breast cancer usually begins with neoadjuvant (before surgery) therapy. Neoadjuvant therapy helps shrink the tumor(s) in the breast and lymph nodes so that surgery can better remove all of the cancer (Ww5.komen.org,

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