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Fewer Miss.

women getting breast screenings Carly Tynes When Jennifer Horton felt a lump on the side of her left breast one morning on her way to work, she didnt think anything of it. By fall 2012, the lump had grown and she knew it was time to see her doctor. Jan. 3, 2013, Horton received news that would change her life. I can remember my phone ringing and my heart dropping, she said. My doctor said, We have a little bit of cancer, and I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Horton isnt alone with her diagnoses. According to the Mississippi Department of Health, this year alone, at least 2,000 Mississippi women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. All I could think of when I was at the doctor was, Oh my gosh, Im fixing to have to tell my kids Im dying, she said. I have triple negative, stage 3-B cancer. Its aggressive and it grows fast, and thats how it was treated. The Center for Disease Control, CDC, released reports stating that breast cancer is the most common cancer in the United States, not counting some types of skin cancer. Data released by the Mississippi State Department of Health, MSDH, showed that 3,303 Mississippi women got mammograms in 2013, which is down by 1,407 from the 4,710 women who got mammograms during the 2012 Fiscal Year. The Fiscal Year is defined as July 1 through June 30 by the MSDH. Although the 1,407-person difference isnt major, a Mayo Clinic study as reported on in a New York Times article said the decrease is modest but still significant. In 2009, a panel from the United States Preventative Services Task Force

recommended that women over the age of 50 should start undergoing mammograms every other year, instead of every year, as it was previously recommended. The panel also said women should forgo breast screenings until in their 50s. The Mayo Clinic study showed the number of women receiving mammograms in their 40s declined. MSDH data showed that Mississippi is also one of three states with the lowest number of women who receive any type of breast cancer examinations, meaning that 28 percent of women will not receive regular breast screenings. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death in women, said Allison Mooney, a radiology technologist who learned how to perform mammograms while in school. Women have a one in eight chance in developing breast cancer during their lifetime. She also stressed the importance of women age 40 and older having mammograms every one to two years. A mammogram is the most effective method to detect cancer, she said. [A mammogram] can detect a tumor two years before it can be felt a self-exam monthly isnt too much to ask. However, many women are like Horton and may go to the doctor once a lump of concern is noticed, or they may not have the funds for a trip to the doctor. According to MSDH data revealed that 6,246 women performed breast self-examinations during the 2012 Fiscal Year. Only 4,415 women performed those same examinations in 2013, meaning there was a 1,831-person decrease from 2012-2013. According to the same MSDH data, 40,602 women from 1999-2013 ages 50-64 are the largest category of women who perform annual breast self-exams, with the 65

years and up category being the lowest with only 158 women. Jodi Ryder, health education and promotion coordinator for the University of Southern Mississippi, said the health education team goes to dorms on campus to speak with women about how to give breast self-exams. Its important now to start doing exams so that youre familiar with the shape of your breasts so that in later years when you are more at risk, youll be better able to notice a change. Ryder said 22 patients at the universitys health clinic were sent for further testing from Jan. 2012 to Oct. 2013 after raising concerns about a lump in their breasts after discovering the lumps by breast self-examinations. Two of those patients were men. Any woman or man could be diagnosed with the disease, but studies show that African-American women are more likely to die from the disease. The MSDH website says that reason is because their tumors are found at a "later, more advanced stage when treatment is not as effective." Emma Freeman, 72, knew the history of breast cancer made her more prone to having the disease. She had a double-mastectomy performed as a preventative measure after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. If I had not gotten mine [the double mastectomy] when I did, it would have been full-blown breast cancer, she said. Mother had breast cancer twice. It returned after her surgery, and the second time she was forced to have radiation and chemotherapy. The most recent statistics from the CDC show that 23,400 to 30,400 women died from breast cancer in the year 2010. Horton considers herself one of the lucky ones. She said during her chemotherapy

treatments, she would visit with patients who shared her same diagnoses who were not given the same chances of survival that she was. She finished her last round of radiation treatment and was declared cancer free on Oct. 2, 2013, nine months after she was diagnosed. You are your own bodys advocate, she added. Listen to your body; if your body says youre tired, rest. If you have an ache thats new, dont just say itll go away. You are your own bodys advocate. Horton said she has taken her 15-year-old daughter to local doctors so they can teach her how to perform breast self-exams and to encourage her to be open with her doctors about any issues. You cant play around with this stuff. I want for somebody to look at her [my daughter] and say, You feel for this, you look for that, she said. And if you ever feel anything that is different, you have to let somebody know. Its better to go ahead and find out rather than wait too long and have to go through something like this [cancer].

Multimedia: I think sitting down with Jennifer Horton as she tells her story and making it a more interactive video piece would really drive this story home. It would be nice to even step into a room with a mammogram machine set up and show viewers how it works, or teach viewers how to give themselves their own breast self-examinations.

Sources: Emma Freeman 601.989.2176 Allison Mooney Allison.mooney@eagles.usm.edu Jodi Ryder Jodi.Ryder@usm.edu Jennifer Horton 601.408.1807

Web sources: Msdh.ms.gov cdc.gov http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/02/fewer-younger-women-are-gettingmammograms/?_r=0

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