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Hoag Breast Care Center
Clinical Breast Examination |
Breast Self Examination (BSE) |
Mammography Guidelines
Breast Health
Making breast health a priority is key to the early detection of breast cancer. That’s why we encourage women to follow a comprehensive breast health plan that includes breast self-examination, clinical breast examination and mammography.
Clinical Breast Examination
Clinical breast examination plays an important role in early detection. Women should have a clinical breast exam by their physician or other medical professional at age 20 and at least every three years until age 40. After age 40, women should receive a clinical breast exam every year, in addition to an annual screening mammogram.
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Breast Self-Examination
In addition to routine mammography, another important tool in the early detection of breast cancer is breast self-examination (BSE). We recommend that all women age 20 and older perform BSE monthly. The best time to examine your breasts is one week after the start of your period; or for women who no longer have periods, the same time each month.
By doing BSE on a regular basis, women become familiar with the feel and shape of their breasts and are able to detect a change from what is normal for them. The real value of BSE lies in the fact that a woman who examines her own breasts every month will very easily be able to notice any changes. Women with breast implants will need to familiarize themselves with the new shape and feel of their breasts so any changes can be detected as well.
How to Perform BSE?
Hoag provides a free downloadable BSE brochure to help women learn how to perform breast self-examination. For questions or to schedule an appointment, please call 949/722-6237.
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Mammography Guidelines
While healthy life styles may reduce risk, there is no known method for preventing breast cancer. However, through routine screening mammography, breast cancer can be identified at its earliest, most curable stage.
Therefore, considering the high incidence of breast cancer and the demonstrated value of mammography, Hoag Breast Care Center and the American Cancer Society propose this guideline: Routine annual mammograms are recommended for all women beginning at age 40.
Today's highly advanced mammography techniques have greatly improved survival from breast cancer because mammography may detect a tumor long before a woman or her doctor can feel it. If found and treated early, while still localized in the breast, the ten-year survival rate for breast cancer is greater than 90 percent. In addition, if the tumor is detected early, breast-sparing surgery is usually possible. At Hoag, approximately 70 percent of breast cancer surgeries result in breast conservation.
Other important diagnostic tools in the early detection of breast cancer include dedicated breast ultrasound, and contrast-enhanced breast MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). For certain high risk women, and women recently diagnosed with breast cancer, Hoag is studying the efficacy of a new 3-D breast imaging technology called tomosynthesis.
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