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>>> DR. JAY K. HARNESS: As I have shared with you several times, breast cancer screening,
mammographic screening, is the single factor that has lowered the death rate from breast
cancer in the United States, had a huge impact in Western Europe and other areas that are
doing breast cancer screening on a regular basis. One of the questions that comes up
to me is, “I have a positive family history for breast cancer, how does that impact my
screening?” One general rule is that with your first degree relatives, your mother or
aunts that we generally talk about ten years younger than the age of diagnosis in that
first degree relative. But you know what? There are many other things that go into really
answering this question. How big is your family history for breast cancer? We have various
mechanisms and formulas that we can use to estimate your risk of breast cancer so it
is a really open ended question about depending on my family history when should I be screened,
etc., etc. So, here’s one of my suggestion for a question like this. Contact a competent
breast surgeon or breast center that can assist you in evaluating your family history. It
may be that your own Primary Care Physician is very good at this, or your Primary Care
Physician will send you on to somebody that your physician feels confidence in to help
estimate your risk and to give you a credible specific answer for your set of circumstances.
That is my recommendation. I do not want to be too more specific because again, the
variances here and the vagaries of family histories are so large. Now, if you combine
in your family history a history of ovarian cancer, as I have suggested previously on
breast cancer answers, then you need to be seen by a genetic counselor. So get yourself
in the hands of confident folks that you can work with, figure out what your specific risk
factors are, and then act accordingly.
Hi, I am Dr. Jay Harness and I want to share with you important information that I believe
that every newly diagnosed patient with breast cancer needs to know.
Susan Denver: I am a breast cancer survivor.
Katherine Stockton: I am a breast cancer survivor.
Coree: I am a breast cancer survivor.
Susan Denver: And I want every woman to know…
Katherine Stockton: …about personalized breast cancer treatment…
Susan Denver: …and the genomic test.
Coree: A test that helps guide a woman and her doctor…
Katherine Stockton: …to the best treatment options for her.
Susan Denver: Pass it on!