Page 21 - Flathead Beacon // 10.29.14

FLATHEADBEACON.COM OCTOBER 29, 2014 | 21
Dear Women of Montana,
This October, there have been pink shirts, pink ribbons, and even pink tutus. We have run ads, written stories, turned the Flathead pink and held color 5k events. Yet, despite all of our efforts, the number of women in
Montana getting a mammogram at least every other year is decreasing. As a community, we need to do better.
So let’s get past the sound bites and go straight to the facts on breast cancer and how screening mammography may save your life:
• If you consider all of the years of life that have been lost to breast cancer, almost half of those concern women who were diagnosed in their 40s
• A recent study showed that the majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer in their 40s did not receive an annual screening
These facts indicate how imperative it is to start screening in your 40s. But it isn’t happening.
Compared to a decade ago, 13 percent less women in Montana are getting a mammogram at least every other year. This decreasing trend is not occurring in the rest of the United States.
The incidence of advanced breast cancer that has spread to the body and is incurable is now increasing in Montana by an average of nine percent annually since 2006. Not all of these cancers would have been caught with screening mammography when they were still treatable, but many would have.
We care deeply about our community and the health of women in Montana.
For that reason, we support the recommendations of the American Cancer Society, the American College of Radiology, the American Congress for Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College of Surgeons, and many other organizations that screening mammography occur annually beginning at the age of 40 and continue for as long as a woman is in good health and has an average lifetime risk for breast cancer.
Talk to your doctor and ask if a screening is right for you. If you are over 40 years old and want a mammogram, but are concerned that you cannot afford one, the Save a Sister program might be able to help. If you and your doctor decide that a screening mammogram is right for you, call the Women’s Imaging Center at The HealthCenter to get it scheduled.
It is not too late to make a difference in your life or the life of a loved one.
Sincerely,
Melissa Hulvat, MD
Save a Sister Program 751-7524
Peter Humphrey, MD
The Women’s Imaging Center Bass Breast Center at The HealthCenter 751-9729 751-6488