EXPERTS AGREE: EARLY DETECTION KEY TO CURB GROWING BREST CANCER RATE

For women in the United States, the chance of getting breast cancer is on the rise.

In the U.S. in 1990, the incidence rate was 154,000 and this year the rate has risen to 175,000.

"The chance of getting breast cancer is increasing," said Marlys Schuh, who is a surgical oncologist, a doctor who does surgery on cancer patients. Schuh is with Parkcrest Surgical Associates in St. Louis.

Padge Haman of Womancare at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau agrees with Schuh. "In 1985, the chance of getting breast Cancer was 1 in 11 and now, six years later, it is 1 in 9," Haman said.

Both Schuh and Haman attended the St. Francis Medical Center seminar, "Mammography- Topics for Radiological Technologists" on Friday. The daylong seminar was designed to help radiology technologists, who give mammograms, learn more about their field.

The seminar attracted 44 radiological technologists from the Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois region.

At the seminar, Schuh spoke about breast anatomy, physiology and pathology. She said that since the 1930s, the mortality rate for breast cancer has stayed the same.

"Early detection is the key at the present time," Schuh said. "We don't know what causes breast cancer, so we can't prevent it." She said the earlier it is found the better chance there is for successful recovery.

"It's important for a woman to know her own breasts," Schuh said. "Mammograms are not 100 percent right." She said women should use self-breast exams, physician's exams and mammograms together.

The American Cancer Society recommends that women over 20 years of age examine their breasts monthly. Schuh said the best time for a woman to do a self-exam is seven to 10 days after her period. She said women who have gone through menopause can pick any day of the month.

"Women should look and feel for lumps, skin changes, changes in and drainage from the nipples," Schuh said.

The American Cancer Society recommends that women between the ages of 20-40 get a physical examination by a physician every three years. Women over 35 should have a mammogram and women between 40-49 should get a mammogram every one to two years. Women over 50 should get a yearly mammogram.

The factors that put women in a higher risk category for breast cancer are age, family history and history of breast cancer.

Schuh said the older the woman is, the greater chance she has of getting breast cancer. Schuh also said that if an immediate relative, such as mother, sister or aunt, has had breast cancer or if a woman has already had cancer in one breast, the greater the risk a woman faces of getting breast cancer.

Schuh said that North America and Northern Europe have a higher rate of breast cancer than Asia and Africa. "Studies have shown that when Japanese women move from Japan to the U.S., that their rates of breast cancer get higher," Schuh said. "The cause of breast cancer might have something to do with diet and environmental factors."

This seminar was held because the technology of the mammogram machine is always changing. For example, the technology now involves lower radiation doses and improved films.

Schuh said, "For the technicians who take the mammograms, the more they know, then the better they are able to do their job."

Rachelle Daume of Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau attended the seminar. "I do mammograms and I feel it's important for my continuing education to attend seminars like this," she said. "I thought it was very good."

A technologist from Dexter Memorial Hospital, Phyllis Bridges, said the seminar was instructive. "It was very informative in all aspects," she said.

Gay Lipinski of Harrisburg Medical Center said that she attended the seminar to learn more about mammography. "The seminar was excellent, she said. "I learned more than I ever knew about mammography and I've been a technician for 20 years."

Donna Wynn of Arcadia Valley Hospital in Pilot Knob said the seminar was very informative. "I'm new at mammography and I came to learn new techniques," Wynn said.