BARNSTABLE – As the calendar changes to the month of October, Cape Cod Healthcare is helping to improve awareness for breast cancer.
Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in the United States, said Dr. Jill Oxley, breast surgeon and Director of Breast Care Services at Cape Cod Healthcare, and early detection is the most important thing for quality care.
“The American Cancer Society estimates that this year approximately 297,790 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, and over 55,000 more will be diagnosed with non-invasive breast cancer,” Dr. Oxley said.
She said that in the case of Massachusetts that means that one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, and specifically in Barnstable County, the second highest county diagnosis rate in the state, 154 women per 100,000 will receive the diagnosis.
Diagnosing cancer at the earliest stage is going to lead to the highest rate of cure, says Dr. Oxley, screening detected diagnoses tend to have more favorable results and that is why she says awareness is extremely important.
“The stage at diagnosis is related to the survival. A cancer that is diagnosed at an early stage is limited to the breast, then a slightly more advanced would be limited to the breast and the lymph nodes in the region, and a more advanced cancer would have spread to other organs,” said Oxley.
With screenings the doctors are able to detect over two thirds of breast cancer limited to the breast, and over 90% limited to the breast and the lymph nodes.
When a breast cancer is diagnosed at stage one the five year survival rate from that is approximately 99%, stage two has a prognosis of 93%, but drops to 75% for stage three, and 29% for stage four.
Click here to watch the full video interview with Dr. Oxley and breast surgeon Dr. Naomi Kalliath.
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