October marks Breast Cancer Awareness month. Filled with fundraisers, marathons, and seminars, this month is dedicated to awareness of the disease and fundraising for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
George Washington University Hospital held a seminar Wednesday night to discuss its new Breast Imaging technology and the services that are available at GW's Breast Imaging Center.
Dr. Rachel Brem, director of Breast Imaging and Intervention, conversed with a group of about twenty women in GW Hospital's basement auditorium about the risk factors linked to breast cancer, truth behind mammograms and the new clincial trial study GW Hospital is conducting.
"Breast cancer is not a disease that does not impact everyone," said Dr. Brem. "One out of eight women will get it and it is the second largest cause of death among women."
Dr. Brem also spoke about the Imaging Center's clinical trial study for dense breasts. The procedure is called Automated Whole Breast Ultrasound. Compensating for the difficulty mammography has with detecting cancer in dense breasts, which is determined by the density of cells in breasts not the size of the breasts, the procedure captures multiple images within three to five minutes and reconstructs a full 3-D image on the computer. The process is quick and pain-free with no injection or radiation, Brem said.
The trial will close in sixty days, followed by a proposal for FDA approval.
"Here at GW, 100 percent of mammograms, biopsy, and surgery are only done by physicians who do 100 percent breasts," said Dr. Brem. "My hope is that one day I won't have a job because there won't be anymore breast cancer."
According to Dr. Brem, there is no way to prevent the disease, but one can decrease the risk. "You have to be your own advocate in terms of breast cancer," she said.
Referring to the myth that leaving a water bottle in your car and drinking from it after it is heated causes breast cancer, Dr. Brem stated there is "no hard data" to prove that. On the other hand, "there is data that if you drink two glasses of wine a day you increase your risk," she said. Dr. Brem further noted that there is proof that one glass of red wine a day decreases the risk of heart disease.
She gave an additional example with birth control pills.
"Five years of taking birth control pills pre-menopause can increase the risk of breast cancer, but markedly decreases ovarian cancer," she said.
With these examples and other explainations, Dr. Brem demonstrated that avoiding risks will not prevent any disease, it depends more on what you deem important.
She gave an additional example with birth control pills.
"Five years of taking birth control pills pre-menopause can increase the risk of breast cancer, but markedly decreases ovarian cancer," she said.
With these examples and other explainations, Dr. Brem demonstrated that avoiding risks will not prevent any disease, it depends more on what you deem important.
"Mammograms absolutely save lives," said Dr. Brem, shifting the focus of the discussion to GW Hospital's technology, "however, mammography is absolutely an imperfect examination due to the dense breast issue."
Even though the majority of the audience belonged to an older demographic, Dr. Brem mentioned the importance for young women to be informed about breast cancer for themselves and their family.
"We love the power of women," she said, "GW students have done so much for fundraising and raising awareness. We are very grateful for that."
"We love the power of women," she said, "GW students have done so much for fundraising and raising awareness. We are very grateful for that."
For more information about GW's Breast Imaging Center or Dr. Rachel Brem, call 202-741-3003 or visit http://www.gwhospital.com/breastcenter
To read the article about GW surgeon Christi Teal's decision to protect herself from breast cancer, visit http://gwtoday.gwu.edu/people/asurgeonsdecision
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