00:00105.9 Sunny FM. It is Jill in a very important month, I think, as a woman. And even if you're
00:07not a woman, October, I think, sticks out to so many people as Breast Cancer Awareness
00:12Month. And you see people wearing pink all around. And we wanted to talk to somebody
00:16that kind of knew the ins and outs of having a diagnosis of breast cancer, ways to prevent
00:22it, when to get scanned. We have a lot of questions. And we have Dr. Rashi on the phone
00:26right now from Moffitt Cancer Center. Thank you so much for being on with us.
00:30Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.
00:32I know you do a lot of stuff and you're very busy. So we don't want to take up too much
00:36of your time. First, I would like to point out that I just got my mammogram two days ago.
00:40So I'm all good for the year.
00:41Yay. I'm so happy to hear that.
00:43I make sure and go every single year diligently because I know how important it is. Now, I
00:49started getting mammograms when I was pretty young because I had some concerns. Turns out
00:53everything was OK. But somebody that's healthy, like when should women begin getting mammograms
00:59and how often should they come in for screening?
01:02That's an excellent question. So women who are average risk should start screening mammograms at
01:07age 40 and then continue screening mammograms every year. The American College of Radiology
01:12and Society of Breast Imaging, they recommend something called a personalized risk assessment
01:17be performed by age 25. Now, this is just a series of questions. And this helps determine
01:23if you're high risk screening earlier than age 40 is needed or if you may have additional tests
01:28needed like MRI.
01:30Yeah, that's exactly how I had to do it. I had to do it. I think I was 35 when I had my
01:34first one done. And we hear that not all mammograms are the same. I know the place I go to has
01:39some I don't know the technical name for it. I call it supersonic mammograms. But what makes
01:45Moffitt's breast imaging program really stand out from like the technology that you would use
01:51on on patients? And what can they expect?
01:54Yes, you know, Moffitt is really unique for so many reasons. But most importantly, we provide
01:59expert review, personalized care and really leading edge technology. So I said a few things. Now,
02:05what do I mean by this? Your results for your mammograms are analyzed by specialized breast
02:10radiologists with breast cancer expertise. And these are radiologists who've done additional
02:15subspecialty training. You receive a risk assessment that's tailored to your unique breast
02:20cancer risk factors when you come in for your screening mammogram. And now this is important
02:24because as I just mentioned earlier, it helps determine your risk status. And this helps us
02:28know, you know, do you need to start screening earlier? And if you do, what imaging tests do you
02:32need?
02:33That's so important, too. This next question I have for you is a little tricky, because I want
02:37to talk prevention for a second if we can. Are there steps? Is this even possible to kind of help
02:42lower your risk of developing breast cancer? And I wanted to ask you that because I feel like you deal
02:46with this so much. Is there anything that women, we can do on our end to kind of help that out a
02:52little bit?
02:52Absolutely. Now, you know, breast cancer is a multifactorial disease. Of course, there are so
02:58many things that can be out of your control. But there are some ways that you can potentially lower
03:02your overall risk. And this does include maintaining a healthy weight, you know, eating healthy, eating
03:07fruits, vegetables, limiting your alcohol use, and of course, movement and exercise. Those are
03:12incredibly important. I had no idea that weight was a factor in that. I'm glad you told me that. I had
03:17no idea.
03:18Absolutely. And, you know, movement and exercise plays into that. Just eating healthy, being healthy
03:23on a day-to-day basis, which I know can get tough with, you know, all of our sort of tasks that we
03:28have going on, but it makes a big difference.
03:30Cancer treatment and breast cancer treatment specifically have really come a long way from
03:34where it used to be. How have improvements in screening changed the survival rates and outcomes
03:39for women today?
03:40It's incredible what's, you know, what's happened over the course of the year. So annual screening
03:44mammography starting at age 40 has reduced breast cancer mortality by about 30%. And that's
03:50really phenomenal. It results in one of the greatest mortality reduction, lives saved, and
03:55life years gained. And early detection of breast cancer from screening mammography helps prevent
04:00breast cancer deaths. And this is supported by many research studies that have been done. So not only
04:05does it help save lives, but it may also help reduce the severity of treatment undergone by
04:10those who are affected by breast cancer.
04:12Yeah, I feel like early detection is so important. I know a handful of people that got diagnosed
04:16very early on with breast cancer, and thankfully, they're okay, because they were smart enough to go
04:22and get these screenings so often. So I feel like that plays such a big factor in that. And finally,
04:27when you I feel like if you don't, or you haven't experienced cancer or breast cancer yourself,
04:31you probably know somebody who has, how can you encourage people to support somebody that maybe
04:36they know that's going through this?
04:38Yeah, I mean, you know, support just makes a huge difference. And I think, you know,
04:42as one starts to come to the firm with their breast cancer diagnosis, it's natural that they
04:47really worry about how treatment is going to impact their daily life. But often to pick up day to day
04:52tasks like grocery shopping or picking nutritious meals, or even health related ones like scheduling
04:57appointments and such, you really give your loved ones a chance to relax and give them a chance to
05:02focus on their treatment. And accompanying your loved ones, you know, to their appointment,
05:06being there, being a good and active listener is important, because it really helps them feel heard.
05:12Lastly, I really want to emphasize knowing healthcare and treatment plans for your loved ones
05:16is so, so important, because this gives you a chance to advocate for them. And it really shows that
05:22you're there for them and that they are not alone.
05:24I feel like that's such good advice, too. Because I feel like in situations like that,
05:27so many people they want to help, but they don't necessarily know what to do. And just taking
05:32some of those stresses off of a person that's going through that can be so impactful.
05:37Absolutely. And you hit you really shine on the point that's so important earlier that you know,
05:43early detection really saves lives. And I think all these factors really make a big, big impact.
05:48I appreciate you so much, Dr. Rathi from Moffitt, a breast cancer radiologist. So you deal with this
05:53day in and day out. And we really appreciate you taking the time out to talk with us today during
05:57Breast Cancer Awareness Month, of course, the whole month of October. So thank you so much for your
06:01time. Thank you so much for having me, Jill. Presented by Moffitt Cancer Center,
06:05Florida's top choice for cancer care. Visit moffitt.org slash breastcareexperts.
Comments