One in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month – a time for encouraging women to take charge of their own health and become educated on prevention. 

“All women need to be an empowered advocate for themselves,” said Jenny Santiago, Center Director for Solis Mammography, a department of Lakeview Hospital. “Ask anyone and they’ve probably had someone close to them with breast cancer. That hits home.”

It’s important to talk about, she said. “In Utah we aren’t as proactive. As a whole, we’re not great at getting mammograms. According to the Utah Health Department, 62.7% of women in Utah have had one in the last two years. It’s 69% in the nation. We’re behind the mark in that.”

Lakeview is trying to help women by making it easier for them to get a mammogram, said Santiago. “The top two reasons women don’t do it are time and discomfort. We try to make it easier to schedule and offer online scheduling. Women are busy. We can have a patient in and out in 15 minutes.”

The technology of 3D mammograms keeps getting better as far as pain goes, she said. “The design is focusing on comfort. The technology is very kind. We want them to come back. The pain is not nearly as bad as it used to be.”

Santiago said 3D mammograms are the new standard. “Most insurances cover it because they see the benefit of finding it (cancer) earlier. It takes multiple pictures from different angles. The doctor can look at one millimeter slices or layers. It’s not just one picture where it could stack on top of things. You can see things much better and earlier with 3D.”

All the equipment is the newest technology, she said. “It’s an exciting thing. We’ve been remodeling and our center has doubled in size so we can serve double the patients. That expands our service to make it easy to get in. Our goal is to get patients in within the week.”

Most cases of breast cancer can be treated if it is caught early, said Santiago. “It’s important to get a mammogram because it can find a lump before it’s even discovered and the patient can receive treatment.”

Early detection is the key, she said. “Symptoms may include a lump, skin changes, dimpling of the skin, discharge from the nipple and pain. Any change that is noticed. Women are familiar with their breasts so they might notice a change through self examination.”

Major risk factors include:

• Age – the older you get the risk increases.
• Overweight after menopause – Fat produces estrogen. The more estrogen you have the higher the risk.

Women can reduce their risk with regular exercise, limiting alcohol and by not smoking, said Santiago.

“We want to provide a relaxed, spa environment when patients come into our facility,” she said. “They can have peace of mind that they’re getting the best care and accurate results.”