Mammography IS the Road to Early Detection

You’ve heard us say it: Early Detection Saves Lives. But what does this really mean? And how do we get there? Early detection means finding breast cancer at a stage when it is most curable and preventing women from dying from the disease. Early detection requires active steps including clinical breast exams and self- breast exams in addition to annual screening mammograms. New science shows the benefits of annual screening mammography in terms of finding cancer at early stages.  

In a recent study published in the journal Cancer, it was revealed that annual screening mammograms are catching breast cancer at earlier stages. This means that for the women who are diagnosed, their chances of survival skyrocket!  

According to the study:   “late stage breast cancer incidence has decreased by 37% over the last three decades, while early stage breast cancer is up by 48%.”     

Not only is there a benefit of saving lives from annual screening mammograms, there is also a benefit in terms of finding cancers when they have not spread. Treatment options are different for early versus late stage breast cancers.  

While eradication of breast cancer is a long-term goal, we are not close to that goal yet. Over 240,000 women are estimated to be diagnosed with breast cancer in the US this year, with around 40,000 deaths from breast cancer. Way too many!! We advocate doing everything possible to finding breast cancer when it is early and the most treatable.  

Image credit: Eternal Clock by Robbert van der Steeg via Wikimedia Commons Copyright Creative CommonsAttribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

Originally published 6/24/14 on mammographykc.com.