High Risk Breast
Melody Littrell discusses what a High Risk Breast Program is as well as the different Women's Oncology and Breast programs that the Women's Hospital has to offer.
Featuring:
Melody Littrell, CMA
Melody Littrell---Manager, Women’s Oncology Services. Transcription:
Deborah Howell: Welcome and thanks for joining us. Today, we'll find out what a high-risk breast program is and learn about the women's oncology and breast programs at the Women's Hospital. This is the podcast series from Deaconess, The Women's Hospital, a place for all your life. I'm Deborah Howell. And our guest today is Melody Littrell, Manager of the Women's Oncology Services at the Women's Hospital. Welcome, Melody.
Melody Littrell: Well, thank you. Thanks for having me, Deborah.
Deborah Howell: What is a high-risk breast program?
Melody Littrell: Sure. So a high-risk breast program is a program that's designed to inform and educate individuals who may be at a higher risk for developing breast cancer. So there's a number of risk factors that have been shown to increase the risk for a person to develop breast cancer. Our program is actually modeled to provide an avenue for these individuals to become, one, more knowledgeable about their risk and, two, have more control on monitoring this risk. And ultimately, our goal is to increase early detection.
Deborah Howell: Got it. Now, let's get into it. What are some of the risk factors?
Melody Littrell: Yes. So there's a number of risk factors that can influence a person's risk for developing breast cancer. So one is going to be family or personal history of breast and/or ovarian cancer. Having a first-degree relative, such as a mother, sister, daughter that has a known mutation already, such as BRCA1 or BRCA2 or any other gene mutation that may increase risk for breast cancer.
Next would be having multiple family members, either diagnosed with breast, ovarian, prostate, or pancreatic cancer. Another would be having a male relative that's been diagnosed with breast cancer, which is rare, but does happen. Also having abnormal breast biopsies with some atypical cells, such as atypical ductal hyperplasia can actually increase our risk for breast cancer.
There's other things such as having radiation therapy to the chest as an adolescent, so between the ages of say 10 and 30, that can increase our risk for breast cancer as well. There's also some ancestry information that can be important. So if anyone is Ashkenazi Jewish, that could increase their risk of developing breast cancer.
And then last but not least, having dense breasts on a mammogram. So when you have a mammogram, sometimes the radiologist will actually define the density of the breast. So if you have a dense breast on a mammo, that could actually increase your risk as well.
Deborah Howell: Got it. That's a lot of risk factors. So what should a patient expect during their appointment, Melody?
Melody Littrell: Sure. So high-risk breast program is actually run by a nurse practitioner, Claire Sutherby. She will review the individual's past medical, surgical, breast imaging and family history, so that we can kind of go over those risk factors that we mentioned before. The evaluation would include clinical risk assessments, a clinical breast exam, possibly some counseling on genetics and potentially testing a personalized surveillance or screening plan, and then possibly even some orders for additional imaging tests to be performed. We provide the patient with educational materials, including strategies that can reduce risk by just lifestyle modifications, for instance, stopping smoking, possibly losing weight, those types of things.
Deborah Howell: Glad they get the information because information really is power when it comes to this stuff.
Melody Littrell: Absolutely.
Deborah Howell: Why do you think it's important to bring a program like this to our community?
Melody Littrell: Well, I think the Women's Hospital, as our tagline says it's dedicated to our whole life. And so when cancer is found early, then the likelihood of a cure is better. So working together with our breast imaging centers, our breast surgeons, the medical oncologists, the gynecologist, and our primary care providers in our community, we can impact the health and the wellness of these individuals in our community by taking a more proactive approach to breast health. And really that's the key when we can work with our current healthcare team for a more collaborative approach to health.
Deborah Howell: Always so much better than doctors working in silos without support.
Melody Littrell: Absolutely. And that's so true in cancer. It really does truly take a multidisciplinary team of specialists to pull together and make sure that the patient gets taken care of. Because really our goal for the high-risk breast program is to reduce the number of individuals in our community that have to hear they have breast cancer.
Deborah Howell: As the old ancient African proverb goes, it takes a village for sure.
Melody Littrell: Absolutely.
Deborah Howell: What do you think the best part about your job is, Melody?
Melody Littrell: There's a lot of things. And I really don't think that this is a job for me. It's really a calling. The Lord put me here to take care of others and I love serving the community and all of the people that I get to take care of every day.
Deborah Howell: Well, this last year had to be intense and, you know, poignant. Sad and happy when you get the good outcomes. And we just want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts, for everything you and all your fellow frontline workers and healthcare workers have done over the past year and really over the course of your lifetime.
Melody Littrell: Well, thank you so much. Again, not a job. It's definitely a calling.
Deborah Howell: I can tell you're passionate about it. Thank you so much, Melody, for shedding some light on this new program at the Women's Hospital. It's been so good to have you on the podcast today.
Melody Littrell: Thank you again, Deborah.
Deborah Howell: And that wraps up this episode of the podcast series from Deaconess The Women's Hospital, a place for all your life.
For more information, visit deaconess.com/womenscancer or call (812) 842-2210. And for more health tips and updates, follow us on your social channels. I'm Deborah Howell. Thanks for listening and have yourself a great day.
Deborah Howell: Welcome and thanks for joining us. Today, we'll find out what a high-risk breast program is and learn about the women's oncology and breast programs at the Women's Hospital. This is the podcast series from Deaconess, The Women's Hospital, a place for all your life. I'm Deborah Howell. And our guest today is Melody Littrell, Manager of the Women's Oncology Services at the Women's Hospital. Welcome, Melody.
Melody Littrell: Well, thank you. Thanks for having me, Deborah.
Deborah Howell: What is a high-risk breast program?
Melody Littrell: Sure. So a high-risk breast program is a program that's designed to inform and educate individuals who may be at a higher risk for developing breast cancer. So there's a number of risk factors that have been shown to increase the risk for a person to develop breast cancer. Our program is actually modeled to provide an avenue for these individuals to become, one, more knowledgeable about their risk and, two, have more control on monitoring this risk. And ultimately, our goal is to increase early detection.
Deborah Howell: Got it. Now, let's get into it. What are some of the risk factors?
Melody Littrell: Yes. So there's a number of risk factors that can influence a person's risk for developing breast cancer. So one is going to be family or personal history of breast and/or ovarian cancer. Having a first-degree relative, such as a mother, sister, daughter that has a known mutation already, such as BRCA1 or BRCA2 or any other gene mutation that may increase risk for breast cancer.
Next would be having multiple family members, either diagnosed with breast, ovarian, prostate, or pancreatic cancer. Another would be having a male relative that's been diagnosed with breast cancer, which is rare, but does happen. Also having abnormal breast biopsies with some atypical cells, such as atypical ductal hyperplasia can actually increase our risk for breast cancer.
There's other things such as having radiation therapy to the chest as an adolescent, so between the ages of say 10 and 30, that can increase our risk for breast cancer as well. There's also some ancestry information that can be important. So if anyone is Ashkenazi Jewish, that could increase their risk of developing breast cancer.
And then last but not least, having dense breasts on a mammogram. So when you have a mammogram, sometimes the radiologist will actually define the density of the breast. So if you have a dense breast on a mammo, that could actually increase your risk as well.
Deborah Howell: Got it. That's a lot of risk factors. So what should a patient expect during their appointment, Melody?
Melody Littrell: Sure. So high-risk breast program is actually run by a nurse practitioner, Claire Sutherby. She will review the individual's past medical, surgical, breast imaging and family history, so that we can kind of go over those risk factors that we mentioned before. The evaluation would include clinical risk assessments, a clinical breast exam, possibly some counseling on genetics and potentially testing a personalized surveillance or screening plan, and then possibly even some orders for additional imaging tests to be performed. We provide the patient with educational materials, including strategies that can reduce risk by just lifestyle modifications, for instance, stopping smoking, possibly losing weight, those types of things.
Deborah Howell: Glad they get the information because information really is power when it comes to this stuff.
Melody Littrell: Absolutely.
Deborah Howell: Why do you think it's important to bring a program like this to our community?
Melody Littrell: Well, I think the Women's Hospital, as our tagline says it's dedicated to our whole life. And so when cancer is found early, then the likelihood of a cure is better. So working together with our breast imaging centers, our breast surgeons, the medical oncologists, the gynecologist, and our primary care providers in our community, we can impact the health and the wellness of these individuals in our community by taking a more proactive approach to breast health. And really that's the key when we can work with our current healthcare team for a more collaborative approach to health.
Deborah Howell: Always so much better than doctors working in silos without support.
Melody Littrell: Absolutely. And that's so true in cancer. It really does truly take a multidisciplinary team of specialists to pull together and make sure that the patient gets taken care of. Because really our goal for the high-risk breast program is to reduce the number of individuals in our community that have to hear they have breast cancer.
Deborah Howell: As the old ancient African proverb goes, it takes a village for sure.
Melody Littrell: Absolutely.
Deborah Howell: What do you think the best part about your job is, Melody?
Melody Littrell: There's a lot of things. And I really don't think that this is a job for me. It's really a calling. The Lord put me here to take care of others and I love serving the community and all of the people that I get to take care of every day.
Deborah Howell: Well, this last year had to be intense and, you know, poignant. Sad and happy when you get the good outcomes. And we just want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts, for everything you and all your fellow frontline workers and healthcare workers have done over the past year and really over the course of your lifetime.
Melody Littrell: Well, thank you so much. Again, not a job. It's definitely a calling.
Deborah Howell: I can tell you're passionate about it. Thank you so much, Melody, for shedding some light on this new program at the Women's Hospital. It's been so good to have you on the podcast today.
Melody Littrell: Thank you again, Deborah.
Deborah Howell: And that wraps up this episode of the podcast series from Deaconess The Women's Hospital, a place for all your life.
For more information, visit deaconess.com/womenscancer or call (812) 842-2210. And for more health tips and updates, follow us on your social channels. I'm Deborah Howell. Thanks for listening and have yourself a great day.