Bras are not one-size-fits-all.
Doctors leading an ambitious study into breast cancer screening say the same should apply to mammograms. "Today, 40,000 women a year still die of breast cancer," said Dr. Laura Esserman, Director of the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Cancer Center.
"Once the COVID pandemic goes away, that will be the biggest risk for women. This is important," said Dr. Esserman.
Dr. Esserman told KCBS Radio's "As Prescribed" the approach to screening for the disease has not changed for 30 to 40 years.
"There are now many guidelines that don’t agree with each other," she added. "Some say start at 40. Some say start at 50. Some are every year. Some are every other year and many women are very confused."
Dr. Esserman is leading the Wisdom study, which seeks to enroll 100,000 women aged between 40 and 74. The women are separated into two study groups: the Annual Group and the Personalized Group. Over five years, the women in the Annual Group will have yearly mammograms. Those in the Personalized Group will have a more tailored screening plan, based on their risk factors.
"We can send a little spit kit to your house, you spit in it, send it back," explained Dr. Esserman. "It tells us about the background genes where, if you have an error, that really increases your risk. Those are pretty rare. But then there (are) lots of genes that together can really influence whether or not you’re going to get breast cancer. And we now know that’s an important part of risk."
Dr. Esserman hopes a more personalized approach based on targeted screening and prevention will allow doctors to identify cancers earlier.
For those at lower risk, it could also mean not having to go in for mammograms as often. She says that would have been useful at the beginning of the pandemic when people were putting off medical appointments.
"Now it’s safe to come in (to see a doctor), and there isn’t a reason not to come in." she said. "But if you knew that your risk was very low, why would you come in? You’d come in later. But if your risk was very high you wouldn’t want to forgo that."
For more information and to sign-up click here.
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