from the 22 news broadcast center, this is 22 news in focus. lauren: welcome to infocus . october is breast cancer awareness month. whether they of the patient or the family never is given the
american cancer society estimates there will be a quarter of a million new cases this year among american women. men can also have breast cancer, but it is more rare. joining us to discuss this important health concern is dr. michelle helms, a surgeon in
north hampton. thank you for being with us to talk about it. kate: what is breast cancer at the most basic terminology. dr. helms: that is a good question. it is actually when cell turnover goes awry.
we have normal stopgaps in our dna that helps us to prevent things from getting from out-of-control. when that growth does awry that is when we form tumors. kate: two people have cancer cells in their body that might not turn into a tumor or a full
cancer and be detected? could be right now have that are as of the minute you have a cancer cell you have a type of cancer? dr. helms: that's a complex there is a spectrum. most commonly there are changes that occur in those cells as
they go down the line and become a full-blown cancer. it is a complex process. there are precursors to cancer cells. kate: what types of breast cancer are there? is not as basic as just that. there are a variety.
negative and all that. can you go down the line of what kind of breast cancer maybe you deal with? dr. helms: are most common cancers are invasive cancers. the breast tissue is made up of the milk glands and ducks which -- ducts.
those cells can both undergo mutation as the breast tissue changes. those are the most common culprits. there are a lot of common causes of breast cancer that arise from the structural components that support those glands and du
cts. those can be sarcomas. there are lymphomas and more rare cancers they can present in the breast as well. kate: how are the different forms of breast cancer defined? what type of treatment is available for a patient?
can some not have treatments? dr. helms: the bargain variety of breast cancer's are treated initially with surgery. our goal is to remove the involved tissue and test lymph nodes whenever removed. breast cancer is a team sport. we work together with medical
oncologists, radiation oncologists and ethologists looking at the cancers under the microscope. it's based on the tumor characteristics, location of the tumor, and their preferences and their needs. kate: his chemotherapy still the
most basic type of treatment from removing the tumor? dr. helms: is to provide systemic treatment. we also say our bodies have surveillance systems. we have our immune system in a way to be able to survey of and find cancer sales -- cells.
being that breast cancer is such an important thing to treat we don't just often rely on our immune system for that job. that is when chemotherapy comes into play, when we want to treat the entire body. kate: is there a certain cause? we hear of melanoma, some
causes might be spending too much time outside in the sun. his array cause of breast cancer that researchers have discovered for this type? dr. helms: that is a complex we don't truly know the cause of breast cancer.
what we do know is that our risk factors that can increase a man or woman's risk of developing the disease. some can be controlled and some can't. and the controlled categorically know that healthy weight and exercise are a woman's best
defense. current recommendations are for 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week. a lot of us are not able to gather that much time together. that is definitely beneficial. maintaining a healthy weight as well is important.
alcohol intake has been correlated with breast cancer. women who drink 3-5 drink per day have about a one and a half percent -- times risk. we always patients that alcohol is carcinogenic and it can change and hurt the cell makeup
of the membranes they comes in contact with. kate: can breast cancer start as a melanoma and spread to the breast or is it usually detected first in the breast and then spreads elsewhere? dr. helms: there are cancers
that can metastasize, travel to different locations. breast cancer originates in the breast and they can travel to other places like the lymph nodes, the bone, the brain, the lung. we try to detect them early before they have left the breast
and treat them in that regard. kate: we will talk about detection in a moment. first, we will take a break. kate: welcome back. this month's breast cancer 22 news is proud to raise awareness of the serious health issue.
dr. michelle helms is our guest today. we were talking about ways to detect breast cancer and ways that can cause breast cancer. you were talking about ways to prevent it, but there are ways that you can't prevent rest cancer.
what is that? dr. helms: there are certain things a woman why not change that might predispose them. specifically gene mutations. we've heard a lot about the brc gene. celebrities that have made decisions based on that
knowledge. kate: angelina jolie, right? dr. helms: exactly. that is something of woman cannot change. similarly family history. only about 15% of breast cancers are diagnosed in women who have a significant only history.
a lot of these mutations are arising. there are other aspects that a woman can't change as well in terms of amount of exposure to estrogen, in terms of when she began having periods in which he goes to menopause. most importantly, sex.
a woman is way more at risk than a man is in terms of getting kate: it is possible for a man to get breast cancer. how often do you see that? dr. helms: it's a relatively rare diagnosis. about 300,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer
this year, as opposed to 2600 men. it is much less common. men often present in the same way that women do, with a lump they can feel. we don't routinely do screening mammography and men because of the incidents being so low.
we do recommend if a man feels an animality in his breast he seek treatment just as a woman would. kate: that brings us to detection. what is your recommendation for women to detect if they have breast cancer and make sure no
tumors are growing? dr. helms: mammography saves lives. we have discovered that is the best screening method that we have defined breast cancer. there is some debate at this point as to when women should begin their demography.
-- mammography. some recommend women begin at age 40. the american gets answered society -- cancer society says 845. -- age 45. women should discuss the risk of breast cancer with her primary
care doctor and determine the best age for them to begin screening mammography. kate: what about women who do have a family history of breast would they be screened earlier than 40 years old? dr. helms: they possibly could be.
we recommend based on the age and the characteristics of the family member who is diagnosed that they discuss with her primary care doctor to determine when the best time is for them to begin screening. kate: is there an average age you find most people do get
breast cancer? is it between that 40 and 50-year-old mark or is it later than that? dr. helms: about 10% to 50% are diagnosed in women under the age of 50. our thought processes are that
the younger women have the most to lose and they have many years ahead of them and early detection is in their favor. age does correlate with the incidents of breast cancer. our risk increases with age. kate: there's an interesting machine, a new technology.
3-d mammography. can you talk about that and white important? dr. helms: normal mammograms, 2-d mammograms, have received a lot of scrutiny about breast density and detecting breast cancers in women who have dense
breasts. 3-d mammography has been an exciting revelation in that area. 3-d arm swings across the woman's breast in an arc and takes real images of the breast. that allows computer reconstruction to create a 3-d
image which separates the tissue off of it versus a 2-d image. that can allow for easier detection of abnormalities. it also decreases the amount of calls we have to make to women asking them to come back for additional imaging. kate: false positives.
kate: there has been some controversy in the past year with a 50-year-old mark. some researchers say there is no greater rate of lives saved and people are tested before they are 50 years old.
maybe they will be a will to detect breast cancer but it would not be to their death from it. it is. there is a lot of difference -- different thought processes about when to start mammography. i think the most important thing
is to know your risk, know your family history and be able to determine from there at what age would benefit the most. kate: when someone is diagnosed with breast cancer what is the next step? that's a really scary thing to be told.
dr. helms: the first thing we say is don't panic. we have a team that will be behind you and guide you through the process. from the diagnosis, which is often made by biopsy, using to meet with the surgeon, the oncologist and the regulation --
radiation oncologist. we offer lumpe ctomies and full removal of the breast in conjunction with medical therapies in radiation therapies. kate: would you find that vasectomy's are off -- ma
sectories are common? dr. helms: in attempting to diagnose as early as possible, we are finding them smaller and that allows us to remove less tissue. it comes down to a woman's preference. women decide what they think is
best for them. again their history and their risk factors come into play with that as well and their comfort level. if a woman does undergo mastecotomy, she has a right to reconstruction and we work with a plastic surgeon to have a
good cosmetic appearance right away. kate: and for family members, is there support for family members. when you suffer your whole family suffers. it is not something you can just go home and live your life
normal. if you are sick, you are not feeling well. with support is there for families in the area? dr. helms: we don't often recognize the toll it can take on families to have a breast cancer diagnosis in the family.
we partner with the cancer connection of north hampton. they do an amazing job of providing a safe haven for our patients to go and sometimes event or find solace in other survivors and to learn as well. they have provided an amazing service to our community.
we are everything for her that. we also have social workers that can help provide counseling for patients and family members. the hospice runs a group for children under the age of 18 who are grieving the loss of a family member as well.
and having groups that are age-based can help find peers that are going to similar -- having similar feelings and going through similar situations to find solace as well. kate: we will talk more about that after the break. you are watching "22 news
infocus.". kate: you are watching 22 news infocus. we're talking about breast cancer awareness month. and early detection and treatment options for patients. we have talked about ways to
search for cancer, signs of breast cancer is home as well. there is the self exam. how should you do that? dr. helms: we recommend a woman feel her own breasts once a month. a lot of women choose to do this in the shower because they can
soap up their hands and run their fingers across their scan a little bit quicker. we ask that you examine from your collarbone down to the top of your abdomen. your breast tissue starts a little bit higher than you can imagine.
the most common reason for a breast cancer to originate is in the upper outer quadrant of the breast, heading towards the armpit. we also recommend a woman feel her armpit as well because the glands and lymph nodes from the breast drainage are located
there. we say to also take a look in the mirror. a lot of times you can see a dimple or a change in the scan. -- skin that maybe was not there previously. know what is normal for you and
what is different. kate: i know a lot of gynecologists do it once a year for visits or for other types of doctors do it once a year. would that be enough from year to year to detect the change, and catch it on time or does it need to be every month?
dr. helms: we like women to the in touch with her body and know when something is different. having a provider given exam once a year is definitely beneficial as well. about 70% of breast lumps that can be felt our first diagnosed
by the woman herself. that is what he wanted to empower women to know what their breasts feel like it if something has changed. kate: do you find a lot of come in concert and then it turns out that be nothing? dr. helms: there are times, but
we always say any breast lumps should be investigated. if you have an area of concern that has changed, bring it forward to your doctor or provider's attention to know it is something to worry about or not. kate: it seems like your the
data we have looked at that breast cancer is pretty prevalent. i think it is the second leading cause of death among women. why is breast cancer so prevalent? dr. helms: we as women with every menstrual period have
hormonal changes. whether his turnover and change, there is always a chance for something to go awry. it is the second-most cause of cancer killer in women. the most common cancer diagnosis for women. blog cancer is still the most
common cause of cancer deaths. it is so prevalent. with 300,000 diagnosed this year that is why we are so painful for october to bring awareness forward to try to detect these cancers as early as possible. kate: it seems like there is a
lot of foundations working to raise money and raise awareness from research. what kind of technology have you noticed over your time as a doctor for breast cancer? how have things changed and develop to save more lives? dr. helms: screening
mammography, which is been around for much longer than i've been alive, has really saved about 30% reduction in mortality as a result of reading mammography. that is amazing. our advent of additional technology for screening the
whole breast, ultrasounds and m.r.i. is involving -- evolving as well. chemotherapy and radiation treatment as well. all the research dollars and foundation hard work going into breast cancer treatment is astounding.
we are so thankful for october for the month to raise awareness and remind people it is such a common diagnosis and something we can all work together to treat. kate: i don't know if there is an answer to this but over time doesn't seem like it is become
more diagnosed? people say back in my day we did not hear about that a lot. is it something that has always been going on and people just did not know what it was from? are there more cases of breast cancer now? dr. helms: the incidents
is increasing each year by about 1%. but we are detecting cancers earlier. the number of cancers being diagnosed has increased over time. we are diagnosing more women
with breast cancer. part of that is because you're looking more frequently. as women become more comfortable with mammogram and feel better about going further for their annual or biannual, they were detecting cancers.
kate: are there perhaps any environmental factors that are known to have caused more breast cancer incidents? or is it just the detection of it? dr. helms: there are environment of factors. is determining how does play
into the incidents of breast we know soaking increases your risk and alcohol intake as well. kate: we want to talk about how often should they have mammograms once they start when they are 40 or 45 or 50? question often up for debate.
everyone are two years. again, depending on risk factors. at also sometimes if we find something on a mammogram does relatively nondescript we may choose to image even more frequently every six months just to maintain and diagnosed
ability in that area of concern. kate: if a woman gets to a certain age and never had any detection of any kind of precancer cells, is there a point in their life where they don't need a mammogram anymore? dr. helms: that's a great question and what we often talk
about with older patients. the short answer is that if you were diagnosed with breast cancer at an older age and you would never decide to do anything about it, then mammography is probably not necessary any longer. what we do recommend is that if
you --our studies pretty much stop at age 75 but you know you have a good five years left and continuing your screening would be beneficial. kate: interesting. very interesting conversation. much.
we will be right back after the break. infocus." kate: you are watching "22 news we have been discussing breast cancer, the prevention, detection, diagnosis and treatment options. we hope
you learned something today that can make a difference in your own health or someone you love. as part of october's breast cancer awareness month, 22 news partners with cooley dickinson hospital to support the go pink campaign on monday, october 24.
it was great to highlight early we hope you discuss this important issue with your family and friends and your doctor. schedule an appointment to find out the risks and your best options for an early detection test. you can find more information
on our website, wwlp.com. that is our program for today. want to thank our guest for joining us today and thanks to you at home for watching. if you missed any of it, watch it in full on her website anytime, wwlp.com.
we wish you a wonderful sunday.
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