Suzanne Potter, producer/reporter, California News Service, a bureau of Public News Service.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month – and experts say in recent years, they’ve seen a rise in diagnoses among women younger than age 40, as well as Asian American women.
Patients should discuss their risk factors, such as family medical history, breast density, age, and lifestyle, with a doctor. Dr. Tran Ho, a breast surgical oncologist at El Camino Health in Mountain View, up in Northern California, sees the issue firsthand.
“If we’re thinking about early-stage breast cancers, for example, if it is caught at a very early stage, the five-year survival rates are near 99% for these women, and so patients do enormously well if we can catch these cancers early,” she explained.
According to the California Cancer Registry, 25,000 women are expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, making it the second most common type of cancer among women in the Golden State.
Ho said certain aggressive types of breast cancer are seen in women age 40 and younger – but they respond well with early detection.
“Triple-negative breast cancers or HER-2 positive breast cancers are very treatable. It’s just that these types of cancers can grow at a quicker rate, and so they’re more likely to recur,” she continued.
The good news is that survival rates are improving. Surgery is becoming less invasive, and radiation is now more targeted, reducing long-term side effects.
