Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women: Breast Care

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Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD from the heavens, praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts.
Psalm 148:1-3

One out of every eight U.S. women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime, and the risk increases with age. Eighty percent of women who get breast cancer have no family history of it. That means every woman is at risk of developing breast cancer. While researchers don’t know what causes breast cancer, we do know that if it is detected early enough and has not spread, up to 90 percent of women can be treated successfully.

While more than 70 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no identifiable risk factors, there are certain factors that increase the likelihood of a woman developing it:

Aging
Personal history of breast cancer
Family history of breast cancer
Previous breast biopsy
Early menstruation
Childbirth after 30 or no childbirth
Menopause after 50

If detected early, breast cancer can often be treated effectively with surgery that preserves the breast. Genetics counseling and testing, which are available through the Baptist Women’s Health Center and the Baptist Center for Cancer Care, can help women determine if they have an inherited risk for developing breast cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, women should have their first mammogram at about age 40, then once every year. This is important because the survival rate is greater than 95 percent for women who find breast cancer at its earliest stage. Treatments for breast cancer can include lumpectomy (limited surgery removing the cancer but not the entire breast), mastectomy (surgical removal of the breast), chemotherapy or hormone therapy, biologic therapy (using the body's own immune system to fight the disease), radiation therapy and bone marrow transplantation.

Since early detection and treatment are key to surviving cancer, Baptist offers the latest technology in cancer detection. The Baptist Memorial Hospital for Women offers full programs for surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, as well as a Women’s Health Center Boutique, which offers fitting of wigs, hats and turbans and support groups. The Dr. Sam P. Patterson Library is also available to provide the latest medically reviewed information on your diagnosis.

If you learn you or a loved one has cancer, there is a lot to consider when choosing the best way to treat or manage it:

Often there is more than one treatment to choose from.
You may want to get a second opinion. Your doctor should not mind your doing this.
Don’t feel you need to make a decision that day. Give yourself time to absorb the information, and talk to your cancer care team.

You also should discuss the following questions with your health care provider (you may want to add your own):

Would you please write down the type of cancer I have?
Has my cancer spread?
What is the stage of my cancer and what does that mean in my case?
What treatment choices do I have?
What do you suggest and why?
What risks or side effects are there to the treatment you suggest?
Will I be able to have children after treatment?
Based on what you've learned about my cancer, how long do you think I'll survive?
What are the chances of the cancer coming back after treatment?
What should I do to get ready for treatment?
Should I follow a special diet?

For more information about breast cancer prevention and treatment, call Baptist Women’s Health Center at (901) 227-9650.

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