Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. About 1 in 8 U.S. women will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.
That’s why it’s so important for women of all ages to be aware of their breast health, and for women age 40 and over to schedule an annual mammogram.
Our Center for Breast and Bone Health is among a prestigious group of breast centers nationwide named to the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, and has been designated a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence.
Dr. Anne Mattingly is here to discuss the Center for Breast and Bone Health at Hendricks Regional Health, and how women can be their own best health advocate when it comes to their breast health.
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Breast Health from The Breast Center at Hendricks Regional Health
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Learn more about Anne Mattingly, MD
Anne Mattingly, MD
Anne Mattingly, MD, is a board-certified surgeon and breast surgical oncologist in the Hendricks Regional Health Medical Group. Dr. Mattingly grew up in Lafayette and completed her medical training and surgery residency at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis. She also completed a Breast Surgical Oncology fellowship at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida. Dr. Mattingly believes in fighting breast cancer as a team and is happy to be doing so alongside Dr. Monet Bowling, who encouraged her to pursue the field. She also battles breast cancer outside the operating room as a volunteer with Komen Race for the Cure®.Learn more about Anne Mattingly, MD
Transcription:
Breast Health from The Breast Center at Hendricks Regional Health
Melanie Cole (Host): Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. Hendricks Regional Health is committed to meeting the specialized health needs for women from motherhood through menopause offering high-quality, comprehensive care with the "Treat people better" personal touch that has earned national recognition for patient satisfaction. My guest today is Dr. Anne Mattingly. She's a board-certified surgeon and breast surgical oncologist in the Hendricks Regional Health Medical Group. Welcome to the show, Dr. Mattingly. Tell us about what's going on with breast cancer in women today. What are you seeing most commonly?
Dr. Anne Mattingly (Guest): Well, breast cancer is a very common cancer. It affects 1 in 8 women, so the majority of women, if they are not affected by it personally, will have a family member or close friend who will suffer through breast cancer or breast cancer treatment. The good news is that we've gotten much better at treating breast cancer and women are living and surviving breast cancer, but we still have a long way to go.
Melanie: When do you recommend--and there's some controversy about mammograms, people hear that--but what do you recommend to your patients about when to start their first mammogram?
Dr. Mattingly: I think that they should get a baseline mammogram at age 40 and depending on their risk of breast cancer, it will determine how often they get a mammogram through their 40s, but I would say to not get a mammogram until age 45 of 50 would, I think, be a mistake for most women. An average-risk woman should at least have a mammogram every other year from age 40-45 and then every year after 45, but a woman with a higher risk for breast cancer should potentially start screening even before age 40.
Melanie: What about self-exams, Dr. Mattingly? Women's breasts are lumpy and bumpy and some are dense and some are not. It's hard to know what we're feeling for.
Dr. Mattingly: Cancer is something that feels hard. It's usually not painful and it feels different then the kind of rubbery, squishy breast tissue around it. It doesn't go away. So, sometimes we'll have lumpy, bumpy breasts that will change with our menstrual cycles and we'll notice something that will go away with time, but the cancer will be kind of a hard pebble that won't get better with time and it feels different than our breast tissue around it.
Melanie: And when's the best time to give ourselves a self-exam?
Dr. Mattingly: Self-exams should be done, I would recommend doing it at the same time every month, so that you're not getting changes with your menstrual cycle. I would usually say maybe after your period, the week after your period, would be a good time to do it, or just pick a day of the month that you'll remember, whether it be the day of your anniversary or the first day of the month, or the last day of the month--just the same day every month so that you always are doing it at the same point in your menstrual cycle.
Melanie: Explain to the listeners the difference between tomosynthesis and the standard 2D mammography that we've seen before.
Dr. Mattingly: So, the 2D mammography is basically just two X-rays of your breast, and you kind of use that to see if you find anything suspicious, but tomosynthesis is an array of X-rays of your breast at different depths. So, it gives a three-dimensional picture of your breast and it's much more sensitive for finding cancers. In fact, you can find much smaller cancers and you're more than twice as likely to be able to find a cancer with the tomosynthesis.
Melanie: Tell us about the breast center at Hendricks Regional Health.
Dr. Mattingly: So, it's a new breast center that we've just opened in August of 2016. We are trying to make this about the patient experience and patient-centered care. So, we want the surgeons and the radiologists to work together and so the radiology center with the mammograms is right next door to our breast center. We can work in collaboration with them and really basically doing all the testing and getting it done in the same appointment to really strive for a patient-centered experience.
Melanie: Tell us what that means. Because, you know, as women, we get that mammogram and then we sit there, nervous, to see if we have to come back in and retake the picture, or, God forbid, that letter comes that says you have to come back in for diagnostic. What does that patient-centered care mean for the patient and that nervousness that we feel as women?
Dr. Mattingly: So, patient-centered care, when somebody has an abnormal mammogram or gets diagnosed with breast cancer, instead of having the doctor up high and the patient down low and having this hierarchy of the doctors kind of talking at the patient and telling them what to do, we really want the patient to drive the decision-making. So, we want to build a village of people around the patient to help them get through their treatment. We want nutritionists to help them get through their chemotherapy. We want social workers to make sure that they don't have any barriers to getting their breast cancer treatment or getting their mammograms. We want to make sure that we have navigators that, once they have abnormal tests and have biopsies, that they're getting those results in a timely fashion and they're not waiting long periods of time between testing so that, really, the patient is the center of the picture and we're all working for them to get them through the process.
Melanie: What do you tell women about that nervousness that we all feel and if they do have to come back for a diagnostic?
Dr. Mattingly: Most of the time, they have to come back for a diagnostic test. It's nothing. It's the way that their breast looked at that particular mammogram picture. So, I would want to reassure women that it's very common that they'll have to come back for a test at least once in the course of their lifetime as they get mammograms and the majority of them won't necessarily need a biopsy. If they do need a biopsy, the majority of the biopsies are not cancer but, I would hope that that fear would not keep someone from coming in and getting their mammogram because it's so important to diagnose breast cancer early so we can treat it better.
Melanie: Are there some lifestyle modifications that you like to recommend for women to help prevent their risk of breast cancer?
Dr. Mattingly: Walking 30 minutes a day has been shown to decrease breast cancer risks, so I recommend any woman, regardless of whether or not she's had a history of breast cancer, should walk at least 30 minutes a day or get regular physical activity. And, I think, in general, having a good, healthy diet is important for your overall health but also for health to reduce risk of cancer. And then, I think a big thing is not smoking. Smoking increases multiple cancer risks and other heart and lung problems and so not smoking is the number one thing people can do to help their health.
Melanie: Dr. Mattingly, as a surgical oncologist with Hendricks Regional Health, where do you see the world of breast cancer going and where does genetics, and the BRCA gene, and the mutations of the BRCA gene fit into this horizon picture?
Dr. Mattingly: Breast cancer is becoming very individualized to the individual patient and the individual cancer. So, the BRCA gene or the BRCA gene is a gene test that has become more widely available. We do tests for it in our office. We recommend that for people that have a strong family history of breast cancer because we want to find if there's a genetic reason for the cancer. But, beyond the BRCA gene, there's genetic profiling of the cancers themselves, and we're able to kind of define if patients will benefit from chemotherapy based on their tumor genetic profile. So, we're making decisions for their cancer treatment based on some of these more rigorous tests.
Melanie: And, in just the last few minutes, tell the listeners, give them your best advice, about breast cancer today and why they should come to Hendricks Regional Health for their care.
Dr. Mattingly: I think breast cancer is a common problem. I would, number one, recommend anyone would just try to live a healthy lifestyle, get regular activity, eat well, but also to get their mammograms regularly and in the same general location. So, we here at Hendricks, we have all tomosynthesis, which is the best technology we can have, and we really are trying to make this a patient-centered experience for people to come through and have this streamlined way from the door through to their radiology machines, and then in to see the surgeon, if needed. We try to get people in as soon as possible and we try to make sure that they're educated and understand every step along the way.
Melanie: Thank you so much for being with us today. It's such important information. You're listening to Health Talks with HRH. For more information on Hendricks Regional Health, you can go to www.hendricks.org. That's www.hendricks.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
Breast Health from The Breast Center at Hendricks Regional Health
Melanie Cole (Host): Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. Hendricks Regional Health is committed to meeting the specialized health needs for women from motherhood through menopause offering high-quality, comprehensive care with the "Treat people better" personal touch that has earned national recognition for patient satisfaction. My guest today is Dr. Anne Mattingly. She's a board-certified surgeon and breast surgical oncologist in the Hendricks Regional Health Medical Group. Welcome to the show, Dr. Mattingly. Tell us about what's going on with breast cancer in women today. What are you seeing most commonly?
Dr. Anne Mattingly (Guest): Well, breast cancer is a very common cancer. It affects 1 in 8 women, so the majority of women, if they are not affected by it personally, will have a family member or close friend who will suffer through breast cancer or breast cancer treatment. The good news is that we've gotten much better at treating breast cancer and women are living and surviving breast cancer, but we still have a long way to go.
Melanie: When do you recommend--and there's some controversy about mammograms, people hear that--but what do you recommend to your patients about when to start their first mammogram?
Dr. Mattingly: I think that they should get a baseline mammogram at age 40 and depending on their risk of breast cancer, it will determine how often they get a mammogram through their 40s, but I would say to not get a mammogram until age 45 of 50 would, I think, be a mistake for most women. An average-risk woman should at least have a mammogram every other year from age 40-45 and then every year after 45, but a woman with a higher risk for breast cancer should potentially start screening even before age 40.
Melanie: What about self-exams, Dr. Mattingly? Women's breasts are lumpy and bumpy and some are dense and some are not. It's hard to know what we're feeling for.
Dr. Mattingly: Cancer is something that feels hard. It's usually not painful and it feels different then the kind of rubbery, squishy breast tissue around it. It doesn't go away. So, sometimes we'll have lumpy, bumpy breasts that will change with our menstrual cycles and we'll notice something that will go away with time, but the cancer will be kind of a hard pebble that won't get better with time and it feels different than our breast tissue around it.
Melanie: And when's the best time to give ourselves a self-exam?
Dr. Mattingly: Self-exams should be done, I would recommend doing it at the same time every month, so that you're not getting changes with your menstrual cycle. I would usually say maybe after your period, the week after your period, would be a good time to do it, or just pick a day of the month that you'll remember, whether it be the day of your anniversary or the first day of the month, or the last day of the month--just the same day every month so that you always are doing it at the same point in your menstrual cycle.
Melanie: Explain to the listeners the difference between tomosynthesis and the standard 2D mammography that we've seen before.
Dr. Mattingly: So, the 2D mammography is basically just two X-rays of your breast, and you kind of use that to see if you find anything suspicious, but tomosynthesis is an array of X-rays of your breast at different depths. So, it gives a three-dimensional picture of your breast and it's much more sensitive for finding cancers. In fact, you can find much smaller cancers and you're more than twice as likely to be able to find a cancer with the tomosynthesis.
Melanie: Tell us about the breast center at Hendricks Regional Health.
Dr. Mattingly: So, it's a new breast center that we've just opened in August of 2016. We are trying to make this about the patient experience and patient-centered care. So, we want the surgeons and the radiologists to work together and so the radiology center with the mammograms is right next door to our breast center. We can work in collaboration with them and really basically doing all the testing and getting it done in the same appointment to really strive for a patient-centered experience.
Melanie: Tell us what that means. Because, you know, as women, we get that mammogram and then we sit there, nervous, to see if we have to come back in and retake the picture, or, God forbid, that letter comes that says you have to come back in for diagnostic. What does that patient-centered care mean for the patient and that nervousness that we feel as women?
Dr. Mattingly: So, patient-centered care, when somebody has an abnormal mammogram or gets diagnosed with breast cancer, instead of having the doctor up high and the patient down low and having this hierarchy of the doctors kind of talking at the patient and telling them what to do, we really want the patient to drive the decision-making. So, we want to build a village of people around the patient to help them get through their treatment. We want nutritionists to help them get through their chemotherapy. We want social workers to make sure that they don't have any barriers to getting their breast cancer treatment or getting their mammograms. We want to make sure that we have navigators that, once they have abnormal tests and have biopsies, that they're getting those results in a timely fashion and they're not waiting long periods of time between testing so that, really, the patient is the center of the picture and we're all working for them to get them through the process.
Melanie: What do you tell women about that nervousness that we all feel and if they do have to come back for a diagnostic?
Dr. Mattingly: Most of the time, they have to come back for a diagnostic test. It's nothing. It's the way that their breast looked at that particular mammogram picture. So, I would want to reassure women that it's very common that they'll have to come back for a test at least once in the course of their lifetime as they get mammograms and the majority of them won't necessarily need a biopsy. If they do need a biopsy, the majority of the biopsies are not cancer but, I would hope that that fear would not keep someone from coming in and getting their mammogram because it's so important to diagnose breast cancer early so we can treat it better.
Melanie: Are there some lifestyle modifications that you like to recommend for women to help prevent their risk of breast cancer?
Dr. Mattingly: Walking 30 minutes a day has been shown to decrease breast cancer risks, so I recommend any woman, regardless of whether or not she's had a history of breast cancer, should walk at least 30 minutes a day or get regular physical activity. And, I think, in general, having a good, healthy diet is important for your overall health but also for health to reduce risk of cancer. And then, I think a big thing is not smoking. Smoking increases multiple cancer risks and other heart and lung problems and so not smoking is the number one thing people can do to help their health.
Melanie: Dr. Mattingly, as a surgical oncologist with Hendricks Regional Health, where do you see the world of breast cancer going and where does genetics, and the BRCA gene, and the mutations of the BRCA gene fit into this horizon picture?
Dr. Mattingly: Breast cancer is becoming very individualized to the individual patient and the individual cancer. So, the BRCA gene or the BRCA gene is a gene test that has become more widely available. We do tests for it in our office. We recommend that for people that have a strong family history of breast cancer because we want to find if there's a genetic reason for the cancer. But, beyond the BRCA gene, there's genetic profiling of the cancers themselves, and we're able to kind of define if patients will benefit from chemotherapy based on their tumor genetic profile. So, we're making decisions for their cancer treatment based on some of these more rigorous tests.
Melanie: And, in just the last few minutes, tell the listeners, give them your best advice, about breast cancer today and why they should come to Hendricks Regional Health for their care.
Dr. Mattingly: I think breast cancer is a common problem. I would, number one, recommend anyone would just try to live a healthy lifestyle, get regular activity, eat well, but also to get their mammograms regularly and in the same general location. So, we here at Hendricks, we have all tomosynthesis, which is the best technology we can have, and we really are trying to make this a patient-centered experience for people to come through and have this streamlined way from the door through to their radiology machines, and then in to see the surgeon, if needed. We try to get people in as soon as possible and we try to make sure that they're educated and understand every step along the way.
Melanie: Thank you so much for being with us today. It's such important information. You're listening to Health Talks with HRH. For more information on Hendricks Regional Health, you can go to www.hendricks.org. That's www.hendricks.org. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.