Women’s Health

1) What is breast cancer?

Breast cancer is a disease in which cells in the breast grow out of control and may form a tumor. There are different kinds of breast cancer.

2) Who gets breast cancer?

• About 12%, or 1 in 8, women in the United States will develop breast cancer during their lifetime.
• It is the second most common cancer among U.S. women, behind skin cancer.
• Each year in the United States, about 264,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women. About 42,000 women in the U.S. die each year from breast cancer.

You may not know…

• Many women who get breast cancer do not have any risk factors. This is why screening is important for all women.
• Men can get breast cancer, too. About 1 out of every 100 breast cancers diagnosed in the United States is found in a man.

3) What breast cancer screening is covered?

Per the New York State Department of Health, the law covers:

• A single, baseline mammogram for women 35 to 39 years old,
• Yearly mammograms for women 40 years of age or older, and
• Mammograms for women at any age who are at an increased risk of breast cancer because they have a prior history of breast cancer, or they have a first degree relative (e.g., parent, sibling, child) with breast cancer.

4) How do I get screened for breast cancer?

Breast cancer screening is fully covered through New York's Medicaid program. Call your health care provider to schedule your appointment. 

Find a mammogram facility near you: https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfMQSA/mqsa.cfm

5) Should I get screened for breast cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic?

YES!

Early in the pandemic, as many as 3.9 million breast cancer screenings were missed due to the COVID-19 pandemic nationwide. The significant decrease in women getting mammogram screening for breast cancer led to fewer early-stage and more late-stage breast cancer diagnoses. 

If you are due for a mammogram, DO NOT WAIT. Call your health care provider to schedule your screening as soon as you can.

Health care providers are taking steps so that breast cancer screening can happen safely. All staff and patients must wear masks. Equipment, exam rooms, and dressing rooms are cleaned after each patient. Other safety measures may include having alcohol-based hand sanitizer available, socially distanced waiting rooms, on-line check in, and more time added between appointments.

Let’s get back to screening!

6) What are signs I might have breast cancer?

The most common sign of breast cancer is a new lump or mass.  

Other possible signs of breast cancer that should be checked by a health care provider include:

• Swelling or thickening of all or part of a breast (even if no lump is felt)
• Any change in the size or shape of the breast
• Breast or nipple pain
• Dimpling or puckering of the breast skin
• Nipple retraction (when the nipple turns inward)
• A scaly, itchy, or sore area on one nipple
• Swelling, redness, or warmth that does not go away
• Sudden nipple discharge other than breast milk 
• Swelling or lump in your underarm lymph nodes

If you are having any symptoms of breast cancer, call your health care provider right away. Getting a mammogram regularly is the best way to find breast cancer early, when it may be easier to treat.

7) What Can I Do to Reduce My Risk of Breast Cancer?

• Keep a healthy weight
• Be physically active
• Drink less alcohol
• Breastfeed your children, if possible
• If you are taking hormone replacement therapy or oral contraceptives (birth control pills), ask your doctor about the risks and find out if it is right for you
• If you have a family history of breast cancer or inherited changes in your BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, talk to your health care provider about other ways to lower your risk

Although breast cancer screening cannot prevent breast cancer, it can help find breast cancer early, when it is easier to treat. The most important action women can take is to have routine breast cancer screenings.

References:

• https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/cancer/breast/freq_asked_quest_breast_cancer.htm
• https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/cancer/breast/nys_breast_cancer_faqs.htm
• https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/conditions/breast-cancer/
• https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/breast/basic_info/screening.htm