BREAST CANCER DETECTION MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH

The real tragedy of breast cancer is that too many women die needlessly. Experts estimate that if all women followed early detection guidelines and had routine screening mammography, more than 30 percent of breast cancer deaths could be prevented.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which makes it a good time to promote the importance of early detection. As a nation, we must promote early detection screenings in all forms of cancer. We shouldn't avoid talking about it because it's too personal.

Breast cancer kills.

This year, about 44,500 women will die from breast cancer - up about 500 over 1990. Today, breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among women.

This year alone, 175,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. One out of every nine women will get breast cancer in her lifetime. This disease does not discriminate by race or socio-economic background. The next victim could be your mother, sister, wife, daughter, friend, or you.

Too many women believe that if they have no family history of breast cancer they are not at risk. This is simply not true. Experts say that nearly 80 percent of all women diagnosed with breast cancer have no previous history.

Another, often fatal, misconception is that nothing can be done about breast cancer. When diagnosed early, breast cancer is treatable. That's why regular clinical examinations and mammograms are so critical, especially in all women over age 40.

It's estimated only 64 percent of American women over age 40 have ever had a mammogram, and only 31 percent of those actually get screened regularly. There's no excuse for these numbers, especially in this region where two top-notch mammography programs operate at St. Francis Medical Center and Southeast Missouri Hospital. Both have earned national accreditation by the American College of Radiology. Both hospitals are now listed with the American Cancer Society as certified programs.

All women should take these steps to arrest the deadly toll of breast cancer: Learn and practice monthly breast-examination; women 40 and over should have annual clinical breast exams and mammograms every one to two years; women over 50 should have mammograms done every year in addition to annual breast examinations. Mammograms can detect breast cancer up to two years before a lump can be felt.

Research has shown that early detection and treatment not only increases the chances of survival, but also reduces the need for mastectomies and other breast cancer-related surgeries.

This is too important to shrug off. For many women, early detection of breast cancer is a matter of life and death.