A SPECIAL WORD ABOUT BREAST CANCER
Another way in which aging influences the breasts is that a woman’s odds of getting breast cancer increase once she turns 40. In fact, breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women aged 40 to 55. One in eight women—or roughly 12%—of the female population in this age group will develop breast cancer at some point in her life. Seven in 10 of these women will be cured of the disease.
A monthly self-exam is the most important thing any woman can do to detect breast cancer early, no matter what her age. Fortunately, it’s also simple to do. As with most cancers, the earlier the cancer is caught, the better the chances for a cure. Early detection is also important to prevent the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body, where it can become lethal. Despite a general phobia among American women concerning their breasts and anything that might disfigure them, many women still do not take the time to examine their breasts each month—or else they might do it every few months or whenever they remember. A monthly self-exam is vital to maintaining your good health; I’ll provide you with full instructions on how to do it.
Interestingly, after the age of 55, a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer actually decrease. In recent years, there has been some controversy about how often women aged 55 and over should be screened for cancer with a mammographam, due to its sometimes inaccurate readings, a slightly increased health risk from the radiation in the test, and the fact that women in this age group get breast cancer less often than younger women. This lessened risk may be due to the fact that with menopause, as the production of the hormone estrogen decreases, their stores of the hormone are gradually depleted, and thus their risk of breast cancer; some studies have detected a link between high estrogen levels and breast cancer. I should note, however, that in almost 20 years of working with women from midlife to their 90s, I have seen very few elderly patients who have died of breast cancer.
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