Here’s what we know now about new guidance issued on breast cancer screenings
Women of average risk for breast cancer are being encouraged to start getting mammograms at age 40 and every other year after to reduce their risk.
Former “Bachelorette” lead Katie Thurston has an unfortunate update on her nascent breast cancer battle.
In a video she posted Friday on Instagram, the 34-year-old comedian revealed that a recent PET scan detected “spots on my liver that were a little suspicious.” After undergoing another biopsy, it was confirmed Friday that the cancer had spread to her liver.
“It is fairly small; however, that does put me at stage IV,” she said. “I know stage IV can sound very scary and it can be; however, given that I am triple positive and the spots on my liver are fairly small and detected early, I feel very optimistic on my outcome. I’m very confident in my team at Columbia.”
Stage IV cancer, also called metastatic cancer, is defined by its spread “to a distant part of the body,” per the National Cancer Institute.
Thurston, who received a stage III diagnosis last month and recently married comedian Jeff Arcuri, relocated from Los Angeles to New York City and transferred her care to a new medical team. She begins treatment, which includes chemotherapy, next week and also plans to prioritize preserving her fertility, she said.
In an Instagram Story on Friday, Thurston said she was speaking to CNN about her breast cancer experience and explained why it was important for her to be vocal about the issues she is facing.
“This needs to be talked about more. Whatever is happening amongst younger women is scary. It’s not normal,” she wrote. “And current medical standards haven’t shifted when it comes to mammogram schedules, leaving women to find out later about their diagnosis. Last summer when I first felt that lump, I would have been more proactive had I known there was a rise in young breast cancer patients happening.”
After skin cancer, breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among American women, according to the National Cancer Institute. Breast cancer rates have risen by 1% each year over the past decade, and women under 50 have seen the biggest increase in occurrences, the American Cancer Society said in a report released last year.
The report also notes that since 1989, breast cancer mortality rates have dropped by 44%, which equates to around 517,900 lives. The improvement is not across all demographics, however, as rates among American Indian and Alaska Native women “have remained unchanged over the past three decades,” per the ACS.
What is triple-positive breast cancer?
Triple-positive breast cancer, the diagnosis Thurston received, is estrogen receptor-positive, progesterone receptor-positive and HER2 (human epithelial growth factor receptor 2)-positive. These hormones fuel cancer growth, and testing for these receptors helps determine treatment options.
The Affordable Care Act mandates most insurance companies must cover annual screening mammograms for those 40 and older. Last year, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommended mammogram screenings every other year from ages 40 to 74 for those with an average risk for breast cancer.
The National Cancer Institute makes available a Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool, which “allows health professionals to estimate a woman’s risk of developing invasive breast cancer over the next five years and up to age 90 (lifetime risk).”
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