Key points from today’s guests:
Mikayla Stover, at higher risk for breast cancer
- While in high school, she watched her mother go through breast cancer treatment and eventually pass away at age 56.
- Mikayla does not carry the BRCA gene mutation like her mother and brother to, but she is still at a higher risk of developing cancer and she has been placed into a cancer prevention plan at the High Risk Breast Clinic at The University of Kansas Cancer Center.
- She makes the annual 3,000-mile trip from her home in Costa Rica to Kansas City, Kansas, for her mammogram and further testing.
- She has also changed her behavioral habits, focusing on nutrition and exercise.
- Mikayla has tremendous gratitude for the Cancer Center and for the ability to have access to all of these proactive tests.
Dr. Carol Fabian, director, Breast Cancer Prevention and Survivorship Research Center
- Most people who get breast cancer do not have a BRCA mutation, so the first thing that we do is actually calculate somebody's risk based upon the same model that was used for Mikayla -- the model that takes into account all kinds of things such as when they had their first baby, what their breast density is, if they're over the age of 40, their family history, who had breast cancer, the age of breast cancer. All of these things are very important in determining risks.
- This clinic basically started in 1990 and it was prompted by my experiences treating young women with breast cancer -- too many of them still succumbed to breast cancer. Those screenings have improved since then. The earlier people are diagnosed with breast cancer, the less likely they are to die of it.
- The idea of the High Risk Breast Clinic was to identify those women at highest risk so we could intervene and perhaps prevent them from developing breast cancer in the first place, and prevent them from having all the side effects from treatment.
- Density increases your risk and also makes it harder to find cancer. If you have dense breasts, we suggest an MRI in addition to the mammogram.
- Know what your risk is and understand what your age and risk appropriate screening should be.
- The important thing is, we are developing new ways to help women prevent their breast cancer.
- High risk breast coordinators can be reached at 913-588-4521.
Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 8 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. A cancer diagnosis affects the whole family. We’ll have expert advice on how to share cancer news with kids.
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