BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

Posted On: October 03, 2011 Author: The Office of Dr. Stuart Linder Posted In: Breast topics, Home

October 2011

Because my practice is so focused on body sculpting of women, including a high emphasis on breast augmentation, breast revision, breast reduction, breast and breast reconstruction, Breast Cancer Awareness Month is extraordinarily important and close to my heart.  I see patients every day in the operating room where I remove tissue and send to pathology at UCLA Medical Center for diagnosis.  Unfortunately, I do detect breast cancers almost annually on patients who have undergone elective surgical procedures.  In fact, we have detected this year alone two different procedures on a capsulectomy and a breast reduction a ductal carcinoma in situ in a stage 1 breast cancer which has required oncological mastectomy with breast reconstruction in both cases.  It is vital that patients who undergo any form of breast biopsy removal or reduction that the tissue be sent to Board Certified Specialists in Pathology so diagnosis of the tissue can be made, realizing that one out of nine women will develop breast cancer at some point in their lives.  Breast Cancer Awareness Month is important for us all to remember that self-breast examination should be done monthly, that mammographies should be done at the age of 40 or at the age of 35 for women who are undergoing any form of breast implant or breast reconstructive surgery as well as breast reduction and breast lift.  Breast cancer awareness includes preoperative mammograms, ultrasounds, MRIs every two to three years for all patients who have silicone gel implants and screening mammography for all women over the age of 48, remembering that breast mammography will save lives and that all tissue specimens should be sent to Pathology for diagnostic purposes in order to detect early stages of breast cancer which can be life-saving.