Preventive Measures for Breast Cancer

Posted by Cancer Center Las Colinas on December 23rd, 2019

Breast cancer remains the second leading form of cancer in cancer mortality rates. Various efforts have been made to minimize the deaths in women with this disease. Most measures have focused on post-surgical treatments and early detection to keep breast cancer away. This has helped to reduce the mortality rates drastically over the past decades.

Strategies that are more effective have been developed so far to help to lower the chances of breast cancer in women. Currently, new techniques have been implemented in breast cancer screening to help point out women who can undergo special preventive measures.

The recent recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to offer risk-reducing medications to patients at elevated risk of breast cancer is a good example. The recommendations came after convincing evidence was established regarding three cancer blocking drugs that can offer preventive benefits. They include aromatase, raloxifene, and tamoxifen inhibitors.

Women are offered the preventive drug treatment after they are confirmed to have a risk of about 3 percent or higher of developing invasive breast cancer in five years. Their risk of getting harmed by the drugs are also low. Risk is estimated based on family history, age, breast biopsy history, race, and breast density.

The task force recommended that a Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) be used to identify those who would benefit. By combining the breast density degree with the results from the risk calculator, doctors will manage to locate and select women who would get intensive screening measures and risk-lowering medication.

Women with preinvasive breast cancer, and those who have had radiation therapy to their chest will undergo chemoprevention. Only those with a higher risk of developing invasive breast cancer can use the drugs to lower their risk.

The three recommended preventive drugs can only reduce the risks of the most curable breast cancers. But they can also reduce the risk to average in high-risk patients. They also come with side effects that should be communicated to patients before they make the decision to take them. To increase their effectiveness, women should adopt healthy lifestyles and other protective factors to lower the risks of breast cancer development and recurrence.

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At Las Colinas Cancer Center, a Choice Cancer Care Treatment Center, our team is committed to providing the personalized, compassionate treatment that can make all the difference in cancer care.