A Media Pioneer and Breast Cancer Advocate
- Longtime political journalist Andrea Mitchell, at 77 years old, is showing no signs of slowing down amid a frenzied and unpredictable 2024 election season, her 15th presidential race since beginning her career in 1967.
- The MSNBC Andrea Mitchell Reports anchor is also a breast cancer survivor who caught the disease — that affects roughly 1 in 8 women — early and used her 2011 diagnosis as an opportunity to count her blessings and advocate for women getting regular screenings.
- For screening purposes, a woman is considered to be at average risk if she doesn’t have a personal history of breast cancer, a strong family history of breast cancer, a genetic mutation known to increase risk of breast cancer such as a BRCA gene mutation or a medical history including chest radiation therapy before the age of 30.
- Experiencing menstruation at an early age (before 12) or having dense breasts can also put you into a high-risk category. If you are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer, you should begin screening earlier.
The NBC news Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent, who hosts Andrea Mitchell Reports on MSNBC, is also a breast cancer survivor who once delayed her breast reconstruction after cancer treatment to cover the 2012 Republican primaries. Luckily, she caught the disease — that affects roughly 1 in 8 women — early and used her 2011 diagnosis as an opportunity to count her blessings and advocate for women getting regular screenings.
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Back to business as usual, she said, “I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
Celebrating 45 years in journalism, Mitchell, who attended the prestigious annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April in a glittery silver gown, wrote an op-ed for the Washington Post last September about all she has endured since her start in the media industry.
“Not that long ago, ‘woman journalist’ was almost an oxymoron, especially in broadcast news,” she shared. “When I applied for my first job, at an all-news radio station in Philadelphia in 1967, I was told the newsroom was no place for women.”
“I talked them into hiring me for the overnight shift, where I’d be less ‘disruptive,'” she continued, adding: “I was so grateful to get my foot in the door, I hardly noticed my job title: ‘copyboy.'”
Recalling to PEOPLE some of her biggest interviews, from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton, she says that things have changed immeasurably for women in media who now hold jobs as leading correspondents, executive producers, and presidents of companies.
“So many barriers have been broken through at almost all levels of the business.”
As for what advice she would give to her younger self, Mitchell, who is now in her 15th presidential election race since starting her career, told the outlet, “I would tell my younger self to be more self-confident, know my worth, demand equal pay, get more sleep and take more time off to be with my family.”
Improving Survival Rates for Breast Cancer
Efforts made by people like Mitchell to educate more women to screen for cancer appear to be paying off, according to a study published this year in the medical journal JAMA. Researchers say improvements in screening and treatment are associated with a “58% reduction in breast cancer mortality” for breast cancer.
“In 2019, the combination of screening, stage 1 to 3 treatment, and metastatic treatment was associated with a 58% reduction in breast cancer mortality. Of this reduction, 29% was associated with treatment of metastatic breast cancer, 47% with treatment of stage 1 to 3 breast cancer, and 25% with mammography screening,” the study says.
Breast cancer mortality varied depending on whether the cancer was estrogen-fueled (ER-positive or negative, HER2 positive or negative).
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the overall 5-year survival rate for breast cancer is 90%.
Survivors Encourage Women to Ask Their Doctors About Dense Breasts
When the cancer remains localized, the survival rate is 98%. When breast cancer is regionalized within the body, the survival rate is 86%. When the cancer has spread to distant parts of the body – metastatic cancer – the survival rate is much lower at only 32%.
The CDC adds that survival is higher when breast cancer is detected in its early stages when it is easier to treat. “Among females diagnosed with breast cancer from 2015 to 2019, 1,097,918 were still alive on January 1, 2020.”
The Importance of Breast Cancer Screening
Screening for breast cancer is normally done through a mammogram, which looks for lumps in the breast tissue and signs of cancer.
While there is some disagreement about the exact age a woman should start getting mammograms, doctors generally agree it should happen in their 40s.
The American Cancer Society (ACS) suggests women should begin annual mammogram screenings for breast cancer at age 45 if they are at average risk for breast cancer.
WATCH: Mammograms are still the best tool for detecting breast cancer.
The ACS also advises:
- Women aged 40-44 have the option to start screening with a mammogram every year
- Women aged 55 and older can switch to a mammogram every other year
- Women aged 55 and older could also choose to continue yearly mammograms
For screening purposes, a woman is considered to be at average risk if she doesn’t have a personal history of breast cancer, a strong family history of breast cancer, a genetic mutation known to increase risk of breast cancer such as a BRCA gene mutation or a medical history including chest radiation therapy before the age of 30.
Experiencing menstruation at an early age (before 12) or having dense breasts can also put you into a high-risk category. If you are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer, you should begin screening earlier.
Don’t delay speaking with your doctor to make sure you are staying on top of your breast health.
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