With so many distractions this year, it would be easy to understand if many women have forgotten about regular breast self-exams and formal screenings. However, staying on track with those measures now could pay dividends down the line.
“What we see is that even skipping a little time could leave us finding cancer that has progressed,” said Dr. Shaunda Katrise Grisby, a breast surgical oncologist at Ochsner Lafayette General. “I know there are a lot of important things happening right now, but we don’t want to get into a situation where we don’t find the cancer early.”
Even under normal circumstances, Grisby said it isn’t unusual for a woman to detect a lump or abnormality, but wait several weeks or months before bringing it to a doctor’s attention. But the best course of action is to schedule an appointment as soon as possible. Besides lumps, Grisby said other abnormalities may include new discharge, skin depressions or areas where the skin is tugging in an odd way. [Read more…]