Breast Cancer Prevention
Starts with Self-Exams

According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer among American women after skin cancer. But deaths from breast cancer have been declining since 1990 because of better screening methods, improved treatment and increased awareness.

A. Samir Hassan, M.D., a board-certified general surgeon at Manatee Memorial Hospital, performs many breast biopsy and breast cancer removal procedures. Although he generally meets patients after they have been diagnosed with a suspicious mammogram or a clinical finding, he is committed to spreading the word about prevention and screening, particularly with self-exams. "Seventy percent of breast lumps are detected by patients themselves. We want women to focus on prevention, get mammograms and do self exams, so problems are detected earlier -- before they feel lumps. This will improve outcomes," he says.

All women should start examining their breasts when they first start developing them during adolescence. It's best to perform the exam in the first 10 days following the last day of the menstrual period, when the breasts are less tender and swollen, allowing small lumps to be more easily felt.

Examining the breasts is a three-step process:

• First, look at both breasts in the mirror with your hands pressing down on your hips and be on the alert for any changes in size, shape, contour, dimpling, or redness or scaliness of the skin. Make sure the nipples are on the same horizontal level.
• Feel both breasts for lumps while standing up, ideally in the shower or with lotion to help your hand move more easily over your skin. Use the finger pads of the three middle fingers of your left hand to feel for lumps in the right breast using a rotation-like method.
• Re-examine each breast while lying down with a pillow under the shoulder of the side you're examining (this spreads out the breast tissue).

A. Samir Hassan, M.D.

Prevention and Treatment
To learn how to do a self-exam, ask your primary care physician, gynecologist or nurse practitioner to demonstrate, says Dr. Hassan. Women should start receiving annual clinical breast exams in adolescence and annual mammograms no later than their late 30s or early 40s, and earlier if there's a history of breast cancer. "My youngest patient was only 27, and she had a family history of breast cancer," he recalls.

Manatee Memorial offers access to breast cancer specialists like Dr. Hassan and advanced tools for detecting and determining the nature of breast lumps, including stereotactic breast biopsy, a technique that uses a three-dimensional X-ray or mammogram to pinpoint cancers deep in the breast that may not be palpable (able to be felt).

"Breast cancer diagnosis and treatment are constantly changing -- there are ongoing new developments," says Dr. Hassan. "That's why it's important to seek out physicians who are trained in breast management and dedicated to keeping up with research."

To make an appointment with Dr. Hassan, please call 941-748-6099.

206 Second Street East, Bradenton, FL 34208 941-746-5111 FAX: 941-745-6862