Rain showers in the morning will evolve into a more steady rain in the afternoon. High 52F. Winds NE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a half an inch..
Rain likely. Low 49F. Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 90%. Rainfall near a half an inch. Locally heavy rainfall possible.
Dr. Deborah Sims, MD, and Dr. Trudi Brown, MD, (l-r) pose outside of the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center on Thursday, September 15, 2022.
Dr. Deborah Sims, MD., breast surgery specialist.
Dr. Trudi Brown, MD., breast specialist at Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center (right) with Dr. Deborah Sims discuss medical treatment they give to their patients on Thursday, September 15, 2022.
Dr. Trudi Brown, MD., breast specialist at Joyce Murtha Breast care Center, Thursday, September 15, 2022.
Dr. Deborah Sims, MD, and Dr. Trudi Brown, MD, (l-r) pose outside of the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center on Thursday, September 15, 2022.
Dr. Deborah Sims, MD., breast surgery specialist.
Dr. Trudi Brown, MD., breast specialist at Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center (right) with Dr. Deborah Sims discuss medical treatment they give to their patients on Thursday, September 15, 2022.
Dr. Trudi Brown, MD., breast specialist at Joyce Murtha Breast care Center, Thursday, September 15, 2022.
When it comes to detecting breast cancer, mammograms are a vital tool in saving lives.
“Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women, and it’s really true that early detection does save lives,” said Dr. Deborah Sims, a breast specialist with the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center in Windber.
“There is no reason not to have a mammogram. It’s an eight-second squeeze of each breast, and you are in and out of here.”
The American Cancer Society recommends women age 40 and older should have screening mammograms every year and should continue to do so for as long as they are in good health.
“I know there is stuff out there that says when you get to be about 65 or 70 that you should go to have mammography every other year, but I always council my patients that you really should have your mammography every year,” said Dr. Trudi Brown, medical director of the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center.
“Most of the time in older patients if we can catch a breast cancer early they can be treated so easily compared to someone with a large tumor. I usually tell patients as long as they can walk and know what day it is, they should continue having their yearly mammography.”
Sims said there isn’t much preparation needed for a mammogram, but women should not wear deodorant.
“The deodorant can look like specks of calcium,” she said.
Once in the exam room, women stand in front of the machine and a technologist will place each breast on a plate where it will be compressed for the x-ray pictures to be taken.
“Most centers, including the Joyce Murtha Breast Care Center, have the capability of doing 3D mammograms, and you’re using digitalization of the pictures,” Brown said.
“So using your computer you can actually score through the breast and look at dense breasts much better than a traditional mammogram. It picks up cancer so much better than a traditional screening mammogram, and that is important as well as decreasing call-backs.”
Sims said a screening mammogram is not read while the patient is at the appointment.
“If when the doctor reads it later that day or next day and sees something, they have to do a call-back,” she said.
“A law was passed in Pennsylvania that every mammogram place has to send a letter to the patient so that it doesn’t get lost between the cracks.
“There’s different letters from ‘you’re fine and come back in a year’ to ‘there’s a finding you need to call your doctor’ to ‘something is wrong and we need more pictures.’ ”
She said the law also requires women to be told the density of their breasts.
“It’s an A, B, C or D – with A being entirely fatty and a D being extremely dense,” Sims said. “If you have an A or B, you actually lower your risk. Statically, women with dense breasts get more breast cancer than women with fatty breasts, so that matters in our risk assessment. Women with denser breasts, especially if they have a family history, need to be a little bit more concerned.”
The American Cancer Society says women at high risk, those with greater than 20% lifetime risk, should get breast MRIs and mammograms every year.
“It’s a very expensive method that requires insurance authorization and we don’t want to do them on everybody,” Sims said.
“An MRI is very sensitive, but not very specific, so it’ll show you everything. We like to see that there’s nothing suspicious.”
She added that one out of eight women in their lifetimes will be diagnosed with breast cancer.
“This is common, and we all know so many people and so many stories, but we’re so lucky that God gave us mammograms and a way to screen and find this cancer early,” she said.
“Women need to overcome that fear and just do it. You can get an appointment pretty quickly and get in here and out the door in a half an hour.”
Kelly Urban is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. She can be reached at 814-532-5073. Follow her on Twitter @KellyUrban25.
Kelly Urban is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. She can be reached at (814) 532-5073. Follow her on Twitter @KellyUrban25.
The annual Breast Cancer Edition may look a little different this year.
Kelly Urban is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. She can be reached at (814) 532-5073. Follow her on Twitter @KellyUrban25.
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