34 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • OCTOBER 2018
PRESS HEALTH
WITH AWARENESS:
BEATING BREAST CANCER
National Breast Cancer Awareness Month
The American Cancer Society says
breast cancer is the most common
newly diagnosed cancer in women
and the second leading cause of cancer
death of women in the U.S. But due
to advanced research, treatment and
therapies, the survival rate is increasing,
and quality of life is improving
for survivors.
And there are quite a few on Long
Island. From 2011 to 2015, the average
annual cases of female breast cancer
were 1,295.2 in Nassau County and
1,316 in Suffolk County. The average
annual deaths ranged from 191 in
Nassau to 201.8 in Suffolk, according
to the New York State Department of
Health.
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness
Month, here’s to giving hope
for patients diagnosed with breast
cancer:
EARLY DETECTION
A major advance in mammography
has been the development of
3-D digital tomosynthesis, “which
takes multiple images at different
depths of the breast and has a greater
ability to distinguish cancer from
non-cancer,” says Dr. George Raptis,
breast medical oncologist in the Don
Monti Division of Medical Oncology
and Hematology at Northwell Health
Cancer Institute in Lake Success.
“New York has joined other states
to add the requirement that if a patient
has dense breasts, they should
be informed by their doctor to
consider a sonogram in addition to
a mammogram,” which can further
assist in detecting abnormalities, Dr.
Raptis notes.
The American Cancer Society recommends
that women age 40 to 44
who are at average risk should have
the choice to start annual breast cancer
screening with mammograms.
Women age 45 to 54 should get yearly
mammograms and women 55 and
older should switch to mammograms
every two years, or continue yearly
screening. Women who are at high
risk for breast cancer should get an
MRI and a mammogram every year,
typically starting at age 30.
TARGETED SURGICAL
TREATMENTS
“Oncoplastic techniques to treat
breast cancer bring breast cancer
surgery and plastic surgery together
so patients now have a nicer
outcome,” says Dr. Christine Hodyl,
director of Breast Services at South
Nassau Communities Hospital in
Oceanside. For patients who have a
mastectomy, immediate breast reconstruction
now has better results,
less pain and a quicker recovery, she
adds.
Today, “giving dose-dense chemotherapy
for patients diagnosed
with early-stage breast cancer is
dramatically improving outcomes,”
says Dr. Raptis. Also, utilizing the
Norton-Simon hypothesis — which
states that the rate of cancer cell
death in response to treatment is
directly proportional to the tumor
growth rate at the time of treatment
— while treating HER2-positive
breast cancer (a breast cancer that
tests positive for the human epidermal
growth factor receptor 2 protein),
has further reduced the risk
of developing metastasis cancer, he
explains.
“Genetic testing and counseling is
a big field; we know more about the
genes and can better identify those
at risk,” adds Dr. Hodyl, referring to
RESOURCES
Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center
Stony Brook, 631-638-1000
CloSYS Oral Health Products
Relief for mouth sores associated with
chemotherapy, closys.com
Good Samaritan Hospital
Breast Health Center, West Islip, 631-
376-3000
Great Neck Breast Cancer Coalition
Great Neck, 516-829-1139
Huntington Breast Cancer Action
Coalition
Huntington, 631-547-1518
Natural Pain Solutions
Medical Marijuana, East Northport,
631-262-8505
Northwell Health Cancer Institute
Lake Success, 516-734-8778
Planned Parenthood
Hempstead, 516-750-2508; Smithtown.
631-361-7526, plannedparenthood.org
West Islip Breast Cancer Action
Coalition
West Islip, 631-669-7770
BRCA1 and BRCA2 specific inherited
mutations that can increase the
risk of female breast and ovarian
cancers among others.
INCREASED
AWARENESS
Patients are visiting their physicians
sooner than later, which can
lead to a better outcome, says Dr.
Hodyl.
“People are also making good
health choices overall, with or
without a breast cancer diagnosis,”
she adds. These include exercising,
eating fewer processed foods and
red meats, and consuming less
alcohol. These healthy habits may
help patients diagnosed with breast
cancer respond better to traditional
treatment, she says.
Dr. Hodyl advises women to bring
anything suspicious — any change,
lump or change on the skin, something
that looks or feels different
than before — to their physician’s
attention.
A doctor assists a woman undergoing a mammogram x-ray test. (Photo by Tyler Olson/Shutterstock)
By MICHELLE GABRIELLE CENTAMORE