How Self-Exams Can Help with Early Detection
- CNN’s Sara Sidner announced this week that she’s been diagnosed with stage three cancer and is on her second month of chemotherapy.
- The CNN senior national correspondent, who is maintaining a positive outlook amid her cancer journey as she hopes her story will encourage others to get checked for cancer, plans to undergo five months of chemo, a double mastectomy, and radiation.
- Sidner’s story highlights the importance of early detection and advocating for your health.
- SurvivorNet experts recommend performing a monthly breast self-exam to look for anything unusual because it can help catch breast cancer.
- Talk to your doctor if you notice one or more of the following symptoms: a new lump in the breast, unusual sagging, new swelling in the breast, changes to the nipple (such as puckering), flaking or redness in the breast or nipple, discharge (including blood) coming from the nipple and pain in the breast.
The Florida-native, who works as a co-anchor on CNN News Central, hopes her story will encourage others to do self-breast exams and catch the disease early on, and her positive outlook throughout adversity is truly admirable.
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She continued, “Stage three is not a death sentence anymore for the vast majority of women, but here is the reality that really shocked my system when I started to research more about breast cancer, something I never knew before this diagnosis.”
The beloved anchor then pointed out a something she “never knew” before getting diagnosed with stage three breast cancer, saying, “If you happen to be a Black woman, you are 41% more likely to die from breast cancer than your white counterparts. Forty-one percent.
“So to all my sisters, Black and white and brown out there, please for the love of God get your mammogram every single year. Do your self exams. Try to catch it before I did.”
She closed off the on-air segment with tears in her eyes and hope in her heart, revealing her positive outlook amid her battle with this disease.
Sidner admitted, “I have thanked cancer for choosing me. I’m learning that no matter what hell we go through in life, that I am still madly in love with this life, and just being alive feels really different for me now.
“I am happier because I don’t stress about foolish little things that used to annoy me, and now every single day that I breathe another breath, I can celebrate that I am still here with you, I am here with my co-anchors, my colleagues, my family, and I can love, and cry, and laugh, and hope. And that my dear friends, is enough.”
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Sidner, who has won multiple awards as CNN’s senior national and international correspondent, also opened up to People about her diagnosis, revealing she was overseas in Israel in October when she learned would need a biopsy after getting a mammogram.
After spending three weeks in Israel, Sidner discovered that a biopsy of a lump found months prior was confirmed to be cancer, which sparked the news anchor to feel powerless, she recounted to People.
However, Sidner realized she needed to stay strong and push forward, telling herself, “No, you’re going to live and you’re going to stop this and you’re going to do every single thing in your arsenal to survive this. Period.”
RELATED: What You Need to Know About Breast Self-Exams
Now she admits, “I have been so much happier in my life since … I mean happier than I was before cancer.”
Sidner, who has already started experiencing hair loss due to chemo and is trying cold capping, is set to complete five months of chemotherapy, undergo a double mastectomy, and have radiation.
Hoping her story inspires others to get checked for breast cancer, Sidner added, “I don’t put my personal stuff out there that often, but I can do something for someone because I have cancer. I can warn somebody.”
Know the Signs of Breast Cancer
Stage three breast cancer, the type Sara Sidner was diagnosed with, typically refers to a relatively large tumor that may have invaded nearby skin or muscle tissue. It may also mean that lymph nodes near your breast and/or under your armpit are involved.
In most cases, stage three breast cancer will need chemotherapy. If the cancer is also hormone receptor-positive, aggressive hormonal therapy may be offered as well.
It’s always important to try and catch the disease at the earliest stages and requires that people prioritize breast self-exams and breast cancer screenings.
What is Stage Three Breast Cancer?
There are many different recommendations regarding when people should start getting mammograms. An independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently changed their guidelines to say that women of average risk should begin with screenings every other year starting at age 40, but other organizations like the American Cancer Society say “women between 40 and 44 have the option to start screening with a mammogram every year.”
Still, there is a consensus that all women should talk with their doctor about the benefits and harms of mammography as well as when and how often they should be screened based on their individual risk factors.
According to the National Cancer Institute, “Women with risk factors for breast cancer, such as certain changes in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene or certain genetic syndromes may be screened at a younger age and more often.”
Talk to your doctor about an individualized screening plan and ask questions like whether or not you have dense breasts and if a 3D mammogram is right for you.
To have dense breasts means you have more fibroglandular tissue and less of the fatty breast tissue. This can make it more difficult for a regular mammogram to detect cancer, so a 3D mammogram, which looks at the tissue in several layers, may better detect cancer.
In addition, make sure you’re performing breast self-exams, like Sidler is urging others to do.
Getting to Know Your Breasts with Self-Exams
During a breast self-exam, SurvivorNet recommends you look for changes like:
- A new lump in the breast
- New swelling in the breast
- Changes to the nipple (such as puckering)
- Flaking or redness in the breast or nipple
- Discharge (including blood) coming from the nipple
- Pain in the breast
Don’t hesitate to talk to a medical professional if you have one or more of the symptoms above. You never know when addressing a change to your breasts could lead to a serious diagnosis.
Speak Up if You Think Something Is Wrong
What Are the Genetic & Molecular Features of Breast Cancer?
Approximately five to ten percent of breast cancer incidences are believed to be hereditary and caused by abnormal genes being carried on from parent to child.
Genes, including those that cause cancer, are segments of DNA found in chromosomes. Changes to DNA that negatively impact health are known as mutations; they can lead to faulty cell function or faulty cell growth.
Breast cancer-specific genetic mutations, known as BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations, can cause an increased risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer. The majority of inherited breast cancer cases are associated with these genetic mutations.
Genetic Testing For Breast Cancer
BRCA is actually two genes (BRCA1 and BRCA2); each protein that work as tumor suppressor. They help repair damaged DNA, and are important for ensuring the stability of each cell’s genetic material.
When either of these genes is altered, that mutation can mean that its protein product does not function properly, or that damaged DNA may not be repaired correctly. These inherited mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 can increase the risk of female breast and ovarian cancers, and have also been associated with increased risks for several other cancers.
For the molecular makeup of breast cancer, there are different types. These include:
- Luminal A breast cancer
- Luminal B breast cancer
- Luminal B-like breast cancer
- HER2-enriched breast cancer
- Triple-negative or basal-like breast cancer
Each type has a specific, individualized molecular structure. The different types of the molecular structure of the breast cancer may inform the treatment path.
Evaluating Your Treatment Options
Your doctor has many ways to treat breast cancer, including:
SurvivorNet expert, oncologist Dr. Ann Partridge discusses the challenges of diagnosing and treating treating aggressive breast cancers in young women.
Surgery
Most women with breast cancer will have surgery at some point in their treatment. Depending on how far your cancer has spread and your personal preferences, you and your doctor may decide to:
- Remove just the cancer and an area of healthy tissue around it (lumpectomy)
- Remove one breast (mastectomy)
- Remove both breasts (double mastectomy)
Having a breast removed can be an emotional experience. Plastic surgeon Dr. Andrea Pusic offers advice on regaining your sense of self after surgery.
Removing your breasts can have a dramatic effect on your self-esteem, which is why some women who opt for a mastectomy then choose breast reconstruction surgery. This is a highly personal choice, and there is no “right” answer as to whether or not to reconstruct.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy uses strong drugs to kill cancer all over the body. You may get this treatment to shrink a tumor before surgery, afterward to get rid of any remaining cancer cells, or on its own if you can’t have surgery.
WATCH: Hair Loss During Chemo
Whether or not to have chemotherapy can also be a choice, depending on a woman’s age, type of cancer, and stage.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy uses high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells and is also used after surgery to lower the chance that the cancer will come back after treatment. Many women undergo radiation as part of their treatment, especially if they opt for a lumpectomy instead of a mastectomy.
Hormone Therapy
The hormones estrogen and progesterone help some breast cancers grow. Doctors refer to these types of cancers as hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers. Receptors are proteins on the surface of breast cells that receive messages from estrogen, progesterone, or both, telling them to grow. Treatments that block these hormones may help stop the tumor.
Testing the tumor sample from a biopsy helps to determine whether hormone therapies such as tamoxifen (Nolvadex) or anastrozole (Arimidex) might work against the cancer. Women with breast cancer that is fueled by estrogen may take one of these drugs as part of their treatment.
Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy
Immunotherapy and targeted therapies are newer forms of treatment. Immunotherapy boosts your body’s own immune response to help it stop the cancer.
As their name suggests, targeted therapies target certain substances that help the cancer grow. For example, drugs like trastuzumab (Herceptin) and pertuzumab (Perjeta) treat breast cancers that have too much of a protein called HER2 on their surface.
Continuing to Do What You Love during a Cancer Journey
Just because you’re undergoing cancer treatment, does not mean you should stop doing what you love. In fact, experts recommend quite the opposite. Studies have shown that patients who are able to stay upbeat and positive often have better treatment outcomes.
It doesn’t really matter what you do, but experts like, Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecologic oncologist at Arizona Oncology, recommend doing whatever makes you happy.
Dr. Dana Chase Encourages Those Facing Cancer To Find Moments of Joy During Treatment
“We know from good studies that emotional health is associated with survival, meaning better quality of life is associated with better outcomes,” Chase told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. So working on your emotional health, your physical well-being, your social environment [and] your emotional well-being are important and can impact your survival.
“If that’s related to what activities you do that bring you joy, then you should try to do more of those activities.”
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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