Colusa Regional Medical Center,
 Caring for Our Community

 Thinking Pink

October is the month we tend to think about the colors of fall yellows, browns and Halloween orange and black.  This month, many Americans will be Thinking Pink because October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Every year, hundreds of thousands of American women are diagnosed with breast cancer.  According to the National Cancer Institute of Health, breast cancer is second only to lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death among women in the United States.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month means much more than supporting the critical fight for a cure, it’s a time when each of us should be reminded to have our annual screenings and routine physicals.  Screening is the process of looking for a problem before a person has any symptoms of a disease.  It is important to remember that your doctor does not necessarily think you have a problem if he or she suggests a routine screening test.  Screening tests are important diagnostic tools that are given when you have no disease symptoms. 

Most healthy women are given one or more screening tests as part of the periodic exam. Numerous groups, such as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, the American College of Physicians, and the American Cancer Society, make recommendations about who should be tested for what and how often. They recommend that every woman over eighteen should have an annual physical exam performed by a competent internist or primary-care physician. Among other things this enables you to develop an important and ongoing relationship with your doctor. If the doctor is familiar with your family medical history, lifestyle, and overall health, he or she will be in a better position to detect small problems before they become big ones.  Consult with your doctor; they will determine which annual tests are right for you. 

“I frequently encounter women who tell me that they are not concerned because they have no family history of breast cancer. They take their breast health lightly based on this,” remarked Rhonda Anderson, manager of CRMC’s Radiology Department.  “What I would like these women to know is that according to the National Cancer Institute most women who develop breast cancer have no history of the disease in their family. In fact, except for growing older, most women with breast cancer have no strong risk factors,” she continued. “It is imperative that they perform breast self examinations on a regular basis, get annual mammograms, and see their physicians for a clinical breast examination on a regular basis. Mammography screenings are a woman's best chance for detecting breast cancer early.”

Breast cancer is found in women throughout the world.  CRMC has performed 3,000 mammograms in the last three years.  Out of these 3,000 women, 8 have been diagnosed with breast cancer. The national average is 1-2 cases of breast cancer for every 1,000 women.  Finding a breast cancer as early as possible improves the likelihood that treatment will be successful.  The American Cancer Society recommends that women get a baseline exam between the ages of 35 and 40, and that they get an annual mammogram after 40.  Mammography screening and diagnostic mammograms are covered by health insurance plans, Medicare and MediCal. Those who do not have any of these coverages may qualify to have the costs paid by the Breast Cancer Early Detection Program (BCEDP). 

Breast Cancer is not the only health related issue women should be considering this month.  As part of a woman’s annual physical exam, a doctor might recommend an easy, painless, noninvasive bone density test to determine your bone strength. The test is called a bone densitometry or bone mineral density (BMD) test.  Osteoporosis is a disease in which bones become fragile and are more likely to break.  If not prevented or if left untreated and undetected, osteoporosis can progress painlessly and then suddenly appear with the onset of bones beginning to break.  The only sure way to determine bone density and fracture risk for osteoporosis is to have your doctor recommend the BMD test. There are several different machines that measure bone density.  Central machines measure density in the hip, spine and total body.  Peripheral machines measure density in the finger, wrist, kneecap, shin bone and heel.  Your physician will recommend the test that is right for you.

Bone density testing is recommended if:  You're a woman age 65 or older, you're 60 and at increased risk of osteoporosis, you're a postmenopausal woman who has recently fractured a bone or you're a younger postmenopausal woman with other risk factors for osteoporosis.

The information gathered from a bone density test enables your doctor to identify where you stand within normal ranges and to determine if you are at risk for bone fracture.  In many cases Medicare covers BMD testing for women over the age of 65 who are postmenopausal and at risk of osteoporosis. Not all health insurance plans cover bone density tests, so you'll need to ask your insurance provider whether it provides coverage that applies to your situation.

Routine screening saves many thousands of lives each year and many more could be saved if even more women in Colusa County remember to Think Pink this October and make an appointment with their physician for their annual exams.  Women at increased risk should consult their doctor about possibly starting mammography screening earlier, having additional tests, or more frequent exams.

Contact the Colusa Regional Medical Center Clinics listed below if you would like information about mammography services, bone density testing, and insurance coverage, Breast Cancer Early Detection Program or to obtain an annual physical exam. 

Colusa Health Clinic, 717 Bridge Street (530) 458-5003 or Williams Health Clinic, 501 E. Street, (530) 473-5641 or contact Rhonda Anderson at 458-5821, Ext. 264.