2 Sunday, Oct.

6, 2013 Breast Cancer Awareness Post Register

By Casey Archibald
carchibald@postregister.com
K
aren Fawcetts career
became more personal
when she was diag-
nosed with cancer on April
17, 2009 at the age of 52.
Fawcett is the Cancer Pro-
gram Coordinator at Eastern
Idaho Regional Medical Cen-
ter, and has worked several
different jobs at the cancer
center there for 31 years.
Because of her background,
and the knowledge that she
was at high-risk of getting
cancer due to her family his-
tory, Fawcett is very diligent
with her annual checkups
and mammograms.
At one such appointment
four years ago, doctors
discovered a micro-cluster
of calcifications in her left
breast. After several more
tests and exams, it was deter-
mined that the cluster con-
tained cancerous cells. It was
only about a week since her
checkup that she discovered
she had cancer, but she said
the days of not knowing were
rough. She said one of the
hardest things was telling her
family about her diagnosis.
When I came home from
my appointment my husband
saw my face and knew right
away that something was
wrong, said Fawcett. It was
even harder to tell my girls.
At the time, one of Faw-
cetts daughters lived nearby
and the youngest was in
Pocatello.
Fawcett told her older
daughter the news face-
to-face and she seemed to
understand. She had to call
her youngest daughter be-
cause she lived further away.
As soon as Fawcett got the
words out, they were fol-
lowed by complete silence on
the other line. Fawcett told
her daughter she would
give her a while to process
and called back an hour
later.
I called her back and
she was still crying and
I had to tell her that I
wasnt going to die. That
was her fear, said Faw-
cett.
Fawcett said she was
lucky to have her back-
ground, because it helped
her understand that she
was going to live as long
as she kept up with her
treatments. The cancer was
caught fairly early and it was
confined to the ducts in her
breast and it hadnt filtrated
out.
Despite her confidence
that she would survive, her
background didnt make the
surgeries and radiation treat-
ments any easier.
Fawcett had a few different
treatment options to choose
from when it came to her
cancer. After a lot of thought
and discussion with her
family, she decided to have
a mastectomy followed by
radiation treatments.
The surgery left Faw-
cett with a large scar and
an empty portion of her
breast. When the incision
was allowed to heal for two
or three weeks she began
radiation. The full breast
radiation lasted for six and a
half weeks and was followed
by another week of radiation
that focused directly on the
tumor bed.
Fawcett explained that she
has four tattoos black
dots that were tattooed onto
her skin in different places
so she could be perfectly
lined up during the radiation
treatments. She said when
she sees her tattoos and the
scar on her breast it is a daily
reminder of what she went
through.
It is a reminder every day,
but it is also a reminder that
Im alive, she said.
Fawcett worked every day
throughout the duration of
her radiation treatments.
Her daily routine consisted
of work, radiation treatment
and then she went home. She
said the biggest challenge
was the physical exhaustion
that comes along with the
treatments.
It is a kind of fatigue I
dont even know how to
describe, said Fawcett. You
never feel refreshed.
The first week after her
treatments, Fawcett and her
colleagues were working
with a breast cancer patient
who had a similar diagnosis
and treatment that she went
through.
That was hard for me, I
had to leave, said Fawcett.
I dealt with it afterwards
and I have been able to deal
with it since, but at that time
it brought back everything I
went through, knowing what
that person will have to
go through. It was just
too close.
Even though dealing
with other victims was
difficult for Fawcett at
first, she said her expe-
rience helps her relate
to them more.
I have to thank God
every day that I am
alive and that I can be
here for my family, my
children, my friends
and that I can be a
mentor to those going
through the same thing I
did, said Fawcett.
Fawcett is looking forward
to July 14 of next year when
she has hit the five-year
mark after her treatment. At
that point she will be consid-
ered cancer-free.
Karen Fawcett is the Cancer Program Coordinator at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center. (Casey Archibald/carchibald@postregister.com)
experience
ersonal
Cancer Program Coordinator knows rst-hand
what patients experience when battling cancer
It is a reminder every
day, but it is also a
reminder that Im alive.
Karen Fawcett, EIRMC Cancer Program Coordinator
To schedule an appointment
at the EIRMC Imaging Center
Call 227-2612
Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center Breast Cancer Awareness Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013 3
EIRMC Imaging Center
1670 John Adams Pkwy,
Idaho Falls, ID 83404
Call 535.4556 to book your
mammogram today!
Mammo Mondays!
Girls Day Out for Education and Early Detection.
October 7, 14, 21, 28
Bring you and your friends for complimentary:
Enter to win a $500 giftcard to East Falls Plastic Surgery.
Education and
information about
breast cancer and
self-exams
Lip waxing
Skin care and
make-up consults
Giveaways
For Breast Cancer
Awareness
Q: I received a mam-
mography result letter
that says I have dense
breast tissue. What does
this mean?
A: In all
breast tissue,
there are ar-
eas of fatty
tissue and
g l andul ar
tissue. Some
women have
breasts that
may be com-
prised of al-
most all fatty
tissue (fatty breast tissue).
Others have a combina-
tion of fatty and glandular
(scattered, fbroglandular
densities and some wom-
en have mostly glandular
breast tissue with little or
no fatty tissue, known as
dense breast tissue). Te
reason for this diference
can be genetic, hormonal,
nutritional, or due to child
bearing or breast feeding.
Fibroglandular or dense
breasts are a condition, not
a disease. Dense breasts
do, however, limit the sen-
sitivity of mammography
and carry an increased risk
of breast cancer. Simply
said, this type of tissue is
hard to see through and
evaluate with complete
accuracy. On mammog-
raphy, dense or extremely
dense glandular tissue can
hide an abnormal area.
Dense breast tissue, if not
compressed extremely
well on mammography,
can also give a false abnor-
mal appearance. Both of
these scenarios may lead
to extra imaging, using a
combination of mammog-
raphy, ultrasound and/or
breast MRI.
Your result letter cat-
egorizes your
breast tissue
density. Many
states are enact-
ing laws to help
keep people in-
formed about
their personal
type of breast
tissue; thus en-
abling you to
make an in-
formed choice
about your health care.
Cari Medeiros,
BS RT(R)(M)
Q: Why cant I just have
a breast ultrasound in-
stead of a mammogram?
A: Te gold standard for
breast cancer screening
remains mammography.
Mammography can show
changes in breast tissue
two years before it can be
felt. Tis allows for early
diagnoses and treatment,
when breast cancer is
most curable. Ultrasound
cannot detect some of the
very small changes that in-
dicate early breast cancer.
It is, however, an efective
modality to be used in
conjunction with mam-
mography, when indicat-
ed. Death rates from breast
cancer have declined 30
% from 1989-2009, likely
due to increased screening
mammography.
Cari Medeiros,
BS RT(R)(M)
Q: Why is yearly screen-
ing important?
A: We are going to an-
swer this by talking about
two stages of breast cancer:
DCIS- Ductal Carcino-
ma In Situ- cancer cells
are present and confned
to the duct of the breast.
Tese account for 25-30%
of breast cancer. DCIS lef
untreated ofen becomes
invasive carcinoma.
Invasive Carcinoma-
When malignant cells break
through the membranes of
the duct and they invade the
surrounding tissue.
Obviously we want to
fnd breast cancer at
its earliest stage. Tis is
accomplished by yearly
mammography with care-
ful comparison to prior
years images. By looking
at changes from year to
year, we are able to accu-
rately detect small chang-
es.
Kristie Anderson,
AS RT(R)(M)
Q: Do men ever get
breast cancer?
A: Although male breast
cancers are rare (less than
1% of breast cancers),
the incidence rate has in-
creased .8% annually from
1975 to 2008. It is not rec-
ommended that men par-
ticipate in screening mam-
mography, but self-breast
exam is appropriate for
both males and females.
Kristie Anderson,
AS RT(R)(M)
Q: What is this CAD
charge on my mammo-
gram bill?
A: CAD refers to com-
puter aided detection. It
is a form of sofware used
with most digital mam-
mography systems that
searches the digital im-
age looking for abnor-
malities. CAD will fag
certain areas of the breast
that meet specifc criteria.
Most radiologists read the
mammogram frst and
then run CAD aferward
as a double check. Using
CAD as a second reader
has been shown to detect
20% more breast cancers
than using a radiologist
reading alone.
Cari Medeiros,
BS RT(R)(M)
The ins and outs of mammography:
Straight from the Imaging Center experts
Why should I have a
yearly mammogram?
Breast cancer is second
only to lung cancer as a
leading cause of cancer
death in women.
In 2013, the American
Cancer Society estimated
more than 232,000 cases
of invasive breast cancer
in women.
The average age of
diagnoses is 61 years
of age.
61
In addition to age, risk factors for breast cancer include:
Family history of breast
cancer, especially rst
degree relative
Early menarche <12, late
Menopause >55
Obesity and adult weight
gain
Physical inactivity
>2 alcoholic drinks per day
Long term hormone-
replacement therapy
Ashkenazi Jewish heritage
because of predisposition
to BRCA1 and BRCA2
mutations (breast cancer
gene)
Dense breast tissue
Use of oral contraceptives
(Quoted fromthe Journal of the
American Society of Radiologic Technologists
V 85, No 1)Kristie Anderson, AS RT(R)(M)
Types of breast cancer
Ductal carcinoma in-situ (DICS): This is an
early form of breast cancer that refers to the
presence of abnormal cells inside a milk duct in
the breast. This type of cancer is generally found
during mammograms and is considered non-inva-
sive. This means it hasnt spread yet. This makes
treatment for DCIS easier than for other forms of
breast cancer.
Infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC): Also
known as invasive ductal carcinoma, this is the
most common type of breast cancer. According
to BreastCancer.org, roughly 80% of all breast
cancer cases are IDC. This cancer starts in the
ducts, but infiltrating means that it spreads to
the surrounding breast tissue. Over time, IDC can
spread to the lymph nodes and possibly to other
areas of the body.
Medullary carcinoma: This is a less common
form of breast cancer. It is a type of IDC, but it
gets its name from the color of the tumors, which
are close to the color of brain tissue, or medulla.
Medullary carcinoma is quite visible during mam-
mograms because the cancer cells are large and
form a barrier between healthy tissue and tumors.
Infiltrating lobular carcinoma (ILC): The
American Cancer Society says that 1 in 10 wom-
en will be diagnosed with ILC, which originates in
the milk-producing glands of the breast. In ILC,
abnormal cells inside the lobule begin to divide
and break through the wall of the lobule to in-
vade the surrounding connecting tissues.
Tubular carcinoma: This is a common can-
cer for women age 50 and older. When viewed
under the microscope, tubular carcinoma cells
have a distinctive tubular structure. There is a
95% survival rate for tubular carcinoma.
Mucinous carcinoma (Colloid): This is a rare
condition in which the cancer cells within the
breast produce mucus. The mucus and the can-
cer cells join together to form a jelly-like tumor.
The tumors may feel like bumpy water balloons,
but some are too small to detect with the fingers.
Inflammatory breast cancer (IBC): This is a
rare and aggressive type of breast cancer that
causes the lymph vessels in the skin around the
breast to become blocked. The cancer gets its
name from the appearance of the swollen, red
and inflamed breast.
Cari Medeiros
Community
Cancer Screenings
Free screenings for
breast, skin, ora, anJ
coon cancer.
Risk factor anaysis for
cervica, ovarian anJ
otber gynecoogica
cancers.
ReJuceJ-cost PSA for
prostate cancer.
ReJuceJ-cost
mammogram voucber.
The best hope for treating and
beating cancer starts bere,
with early detection.
Take advantage of our FREE
and reduced-cost cancer
screenings.
D
ate:
Saturday, O
ctober 26
Tim
e:
10:00 a.m
. - 2:00 p.m
.
Place:
EIRM
C Cancer Center
Pre-registration begins October 1.
Ca 535-ICAN
32+5 Clannin, Way lJalo lalls