The Importance of Breast Screening UNDER the age of 40

Day after day, I speak upon Women’s Breast Health as an educator at Pulse Radiology.? At some points, I even subconsciously think, “oh, I am very aware of breast education, I know that women should be screened starting at the age of 40, I understand comprehensive anatomy, pathology and treatment of the breast”.? But in the harsh reality of life, I recently learned that understanding anatomy and treatments of breast health does not necessarily mean it will not affect your loved ones.

In early July, my wife was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in her left breast at the age of 36.? She had no symptoms, routine blood work was normal but she felt a small sharp pain inferolateral to the left breast region (not in the breast itself).? We assumed it may have been her bra rubbing against her ribs so we thought nothing of it for about one day.? As the pain remained consistent, she (not I) decided to follow up on and see her women's health doctor.

During the breast evaluation, the doctor notices a small lump sized mass, around 1 o’clock, that she deemed “suspicious” and scheduled her for a mammography and ultrasound to further investigate.? The impression stated: one (1) hypoechoic mass containing calcifications, three (3) abnormal lymph nodes and graded the exam as a BIRADS 4: Suspicious.

At this point, I contacted all of my mammography colleagues and friends: radiologists, nurses, mammographers and sonographers to gather a consensus on the outcome.? The overall thought process was 80% of the time BIRADS 4 tended to be benign, leaving us 20% amongst a gigantic denominator nationally that this would likely be benign.? Unfortunately, the follow up biopsy and pathology report tested positive for the mass as Invasive Ductal Carcinoma with no family history.? The silver lining was that the three lymph nodes were benign.

My wife was treated at 纪念斯隆-凯特琳癌症中心 in New York (our hometown ??) by an amazing breast surgeon and perfectionist plastic surgeon. She is currently recovering from surgical intervention and is doing amazing!

Why am I sharing such details?

The point of this article is not to seek and receive self pity but to shine a light on the question: “Is Screening at the Age of 40 enough for Women’s Health?”

Circling back on my discussions with my mammography and sonography colleagues, they feel they see way too many women under the age of 40 being diagnosed with breast cancer and that there needs to be a better protocol for this age group and I CANNOT AGREE MORE!

As per an article, “Breast Cancer Statistics in Young Adults” by Young Survival Coalition, in 2015, there were 231,840 new cases of invasive breast cancer among all women annually across the US.? An estimated 12,150 cases of breast cancer were found in women under the age of 40, which equates to approximately 5%.? Getting to my point: the article states that approximately 1,000 women under the age of 40 die from breast cancer annually.? So yes, 5% may not be such a large number, BUT 80% of that 5% unfortunately die!? To add, 80% of these young women diagnosed with breast cancer find their breast abnormalities themselves and not through breast screening.

Check yourself, schedule your mammo and follow up with your Women's Health specialist.

My wife and I want to share our journey because maybe, just maybe, we can help someone reading this to catch any breast abnormalities (for themselves or a family member) earlier than expected.? My wife and I keep thinking, “What if we did not follow up on a small localized pain that wasn’t even in the breast?”? We are pretty sure we would be dealing with a totally different situation.? Do not be afraid to be proactive about your health! Schedule and go to your mammo.

Mammography Technologist Shortage

For many years, I have joined conversations regarding the severe staffing shortage in Mammography.? Plain and simple: there are just not enough #mammography technologists.

The mammography staffing shortages disrupts various chained events by increasing the timeframe to schedule a mammography which results in many women having to wait longer for their breast screenings and biopsies.? The shortage fell off the deep end after COVID-19 as mammography technologists who were contemplating retirement or a career change made their decisions earlier than expected resulting in an even bigger deficit of mammography technologists.? Again, we need more mammographers!

If you are currently a female ARRT radiologic technologist, there is a significant opportunity to help fill this important sector of radiology that very much needs an infusion of dedicated and passionate technologists.? If you are interested in pursuing a mammography career, you can review the Pulse Radiology Online Mammography Program to help fill the void and push the future of women's health forward!

Link: https://pulseradiology.com/