Editorial

Published 9:23 am Friday, February 22, 2008

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For women and the men and children who care about them, it’s a good time for a few reminders about the importance of self-care.

In Washington state, an estimated 3,700 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, with 700 projected to die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. According to recent published reports, a scientist at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center said a more than decade-long study shows teaching breast self-exam doesn’t decrease the number of breast cancer deaths. The self-exams resulted only in more tests of breast tissue where the lump was found to be benign, or non-cancerous, said Dr. David Thomas, a Hutchinson epidemiologist.

The American Cancer Society has advocated breast self-exams since 1980. Dr. Thomas Smith, medical director of the Comprehensive Breast Center at Providence Everett Medical Center, said the study does not nullify the value of the breast self-exam, when used with mammography and physical exams, to help detect breast cancer.

Breast self-exams, regular mammography and professional physical exams are part of a “triple play” in early breast cancer detection, he said, “which clearly increase survival.”

“Those of us in the trenches that work with breast cancer patients know that 10 to 15 percent of all diagnosed breast cancers can’t be seen in mammography,” he said.

Both doctors indicated they believe the self-exams have value when conducted thoroughly and properly. The study itself essentially makes the same point.

The moral of the story is that with a disease as devastating as breast cancer, an attitude of vigilance – which can include thorough self-exams – is the most powerful weapon.

For more information about breast cancer and self-exams, contact the American Cancer Society at http://www.cancer.org/ or call the Seattle chapter at 206-283-1152.