Screening for daughters of patients?
Meet the Experts
Cecilia M. Brennecke, M.D. is a radiologist and medical director at Johns Hopkins at Greenspring in Baltimore, Maryland. As a breast imaging specialist, she interprets mammography, performs ultrasound and breast MRI, conducts clinical breast exams, and performs the newest image-guided biopsy procedures.
Marisa Weiss, M.D. is an oncologist specializing in breast cancer and the founder, president, and guiding force behind Breastcancer.org.
Question from MariaR: I lost my mother to cancer when I was 10. How can I check myself, or what do I need to see? I also have two daughters, and I am worried.
- Answer —Cecilia Brennecke, M.D.: I start the daughter of a woman who's had breast cancer with screening mammography 10 years earlier than her mother's age at diagnosis. So if your mother was 40, you should start screening at age 30. Screening should include a mammogram and a clinical breast exam and ultrasound if it is needed. Regarding your daughters, they should begin having clinical breast exams at age 18-20, when they start going to a gynecologist, and they should start learning how to do breast self exams at about the same time.
On Wednesday, July 16, 2003, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Breast Cancer Screening. Cecilia M. Brennecke, M.D. and Marisa Weiss, M.D. answered your questions about mammograms, ultrasound, MRI, breast self exams, physical exams by a doctor, and other topics related to breast cancer screening.
The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.
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