What Smart Women Need to Know About Breast Cancer

How to Find a “Good” Breast Imaging Center

I’ve received several inquiries from women living in various regions of the country, asking how they should choose where to go for their mammogram, and if it really matters.  I cannot emphasize this enough:  It matters! Here are a few tips to help your search:

1. The most basic requirement is whether a facility is accredited under the MQSA (Mammography Quality Standards Act).  The accrediting body for most states is the ACR (American College of Radiology), which has a list of requirements and tests that facilities must comply with in order for the centers

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A Minute Well Spent: Sign up for a (Free) Mammogram Reminder

A woman in her 40′s feels an odd thickening in her breast one day while taking a shower.  She calls her doctor, who immediately refers her to a radiology practice for a diagnostic mammogram and sonogram.  The patient asks her doctor to check her chart and tell her when she had her last screening mammogram; she thinks it was maybe just over a year ago.  Her life is extremely busy, and with four children ranging in ages from 5 to 17, she’s not always able to keep track of her own medical appointments.  The doctor tells her that her last mammogram was actually…

8 Reasons to Choose the Needle If You Need a Breast Biopsy

While killing time in foils under the dryer at my favorite hair salon, I was flipping through the October 2011 issue of Vogue and came across an interesting article, “Breast Check” by Elizabeth Weil.  Weil discusses the experience of her sister-in-law Kelly, who felt a lump in her breast that required a biopsy.  Kelly’s doctor performed an open surgical biopsy, and the results were benign (no cancer!).  Although relieved, the author wondered why Kelly was not sent to a radiologist for a needle biopsy (as in the example image above), and instead…

First, Do No Harm: The Spectacular Failure of a Government Panel

As a veteran of World War II, my grandfather was a GI Bill success story, the first man to go to college from his impoverished neighborhood in Jersey City thanks to government at its finest.   A card-carrying member of the state teachers’ union, and a politically active Democrat for most of his life, it came as something of a shock to me when, after a few decades of observing big government debacles, my grandfather became one of Ronald Reagan’s most ardent fans.  I still remember his delight over the classic Reaganism, “The nine most terrifying words in the …

Latest Post in the Atlantic

Be sure to check out my full post in the Atlantic for some strategies for avoiding breast cancer.

I wear my seatbelt, get my flu shot, wash and sanitize my hands, wear sunscreen, scrub the fruits and veggies clean, look both ways when I cross the street, and never take candy from strangers. But what can I do to protect myself (and my family) from the single most common cause of death among women in my own age group, 35 to 50 years old? Here are a few evidence-based strategies to increase your odds of avoiding advanced breast cancer.…