Column: Early detection vital in fighting cancer

The Tribune

Recent stories in The Tribune profiled a number of area residents who have fought breast cancer. Their stories were all different. Their cancers were different. Their doctors were different. Their treatments were different.

But two common threads surfaced in many of their stories — they are survivors, of course, and early detection helped most of them in their battle against breast cancer.

These women shared their stories, and they shared the lessons learned through their struggles to survive.

Clearly one of those lessons is to undergo regular mammograms. Early diagnosis gives everyone involved a better chance of beating the cancer. Early detection is important in fighting nearly all cancers, Sally Acton of the Don and Dana Myers Cancer Center in Seymour said, whether it be colon cancer, pancreatic cancer or breast cancer.

Having a high-quality screening mammogram and having a clinical breast exam — an examination done by a health care provider — on a regular basis are the most effective ways to detect breast cancer early, according to the National Cancer Institute. It reports that “as with any screening test, screening mammograms have both benefits and limitations” and adds that some cancers cannot be detected by a screening mammogram but might be found by a clinical breast exam.

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