Anchor: Welcome back to We Are Austin.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and while it’s good to think pink, it is
all about action.
Doctor Arthy Saravanan from ARA is here to share important information about your health.
Thank you for being here.
What would you say is the key message that you’re trying to get out?
Doctor: Well, I think the key message that we’re trying to convey is to raise awareness
about breast cancer, specifically the importance of getting screening mammograms for women
over the age of 40.
Many women believe that breast cancer is not as common as it is, in fact 1 in 8 women will
be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime.
About one will die every 13 minutes, and what’s startling is that many women over the age
of 40 in Austin don’t have their screening mammograms scheduled as of yet.
Anchor: Why do you think that is?
Doctor: Well, I think mammograms are not the most fun activity for women with their busy
lifestyles today.
I think if women are more informed about screening mammograms and breast cancer, they’ll have
more chances of having their mammograms scheduled.
Anchor: Yeah most definitely.
So just to kind of underscore what you just said so we can make sure viewers know.
You talked about the age of 40 is when you would start getting mammograms.
What should the frequency be after that?
Doctor: That’s right.
According to the American College of Radiology, women should start getting screening mammograms
at the age of 40 and yearly thereafter.
If you do have an increased risk or you have a family history, your screening can start
earlier.
Anchor: Okay, that’s really good to know.
So what are maybe some common myths you hear?
You speak with a lot of patience; what do you see about what people think about breast cancer?
Doctor: Absolutely.
There are a lot of myths that were heard kind of floating around in our patient population.
One common one is that patients believe that if they don’t have a family history of breast
cancer, they don’t need to get a screening mammogram.
The fact is that most breast cancers that we detect in women, in fact over 75%, develop
spontaneously with no known family history of breast cancer.
Anchor: Mhmm
Doctor: Another myth I’ve heard is that women feel that if they don’t actually feel
a lump in their breast, they don’t need to go and get evaluated.
The truth is that with our newest and kind of best technology that we have, the 3-D tomosynthesis
mammograms, can detect breast cancers really early on, in fact years before they can actually
be felt by the patient.
Anchor: That’s really good to know.
Doctor: Another myth actually is that women believe that with their small breast sizes
they won’t have breast cancer.
That’s a myth as well because there’s no known kind of connection between size and
cancer risk.
Anchor: Yeah.
And are there any other myths or are those some of the main ones?
Doctor: Those are the main ones I’ve heard, yes.
Anchor: So in terms of having a screening, what is the likelihood that you would find
something?
Doctor: Um, in a thousand women that are screened that have screening mammograms, about 100
will be called back for additional imaging.
Out of those 100, about twenty will have biopsies that are recommended.
And out of those twenty, about five will be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Anchor: Wow, so interesting.
So it seems like the really important message is be proactive about your health.
Doctor: Absolutely.
Anchor: Get the screening done so you can just know and be informed.
Doctor: Yes
Anchor: You brought some images to show us
Doctor: Of Course
Anchor: So that we can kind of understand the bigger picture.
So what are we looking at?
Doctor: Yeah, so this is just a picture of a normal mammogram.
Basically, both breasts are imaged and there are two views that are taken essentially in
different angles so that the radiologist can see the maximum amount of breast tissue to
be able to diagnose breast cancer.
Anchor: Okay, gotcha.
So those were two views.
Doctor: Exactly.
So this is an example of what we call architectural distortion in the breast.
In this case the woman will be called in for additional imaging.
Anchor: Okay.
Doctor: This next mammogram shows a lump that the patient was able to feel which turned
out to be breast cancer.
So, this kind of highlights the importance of having a mammogram every year because perhaps
this cancer may have been found earlier on if the patient were getting yearly mammograms.
Anchor: Good to know.
Doctor: And this last case shows an example of a breast cancer that has metastatic axillary
lymphadenopathy, meaning the cancer has spread to her lymph
nodes and the underarm.
Anchor: Yeah.
Thanks for cleaning that up because I think, you know, a lot of times people wonder what
does metastatic mean, so that means that the cancer that started in the breast has spread
to other parts of the body.
Doctor: Exactly, yes.
Anchor: So, if people want more information or they’re hearing you and deciding that
it’s time to schedule a mammogram, what’s the best way to go about doing that?
Doctor: Well they can go to any one of our twelve locations across central Texas, they
can visit us online at ausrad.com, they can give us a call and we can help them in scheduling
a mammogram as well.
Anchor: Yeah, and answer some questions.
And again, we highlight this during the month of October but it’s important year-round.
Doctor: Absolutely
Anchor: Thank you so much for the work that you do
Doctor: Thank you, it’s my pleasure
Anchor: We’re really glad you’re here.
And there’s the information on the screen.
You can head to their website or you can give a call to the number right there.