Women of all ages, many of whom were decked out in pink, gathered at Merit Health River Region Friday for a women’s health lunch program and wellness showcase.

October is breast cancer awareness month and guest speaker Dr. Chris Clark, a general and thoracic surgeon at the hospital, discussed how breast cancer is diagnosed and the treatments for some of the most common forms of the disease.

“Everything we offer here is the same that is offered in Jackson, Houston, Mayo, everything. Breast cancer is a very specific thing,” Clark said. “It is very standardized. We don’t just make it up on the fly. There have been tests and studies done for years. We’ve got it down to a science.”

One of the key parts of his speech, which he said was an attempt to condense the highlights of a more than eight-hour medical school lecture into about 40 minutes, was the importance of beginning yearly mammograms at 40.

“About a year ago, two years ago maybe, they released recommendations from the government saying that they are going to try to kick all the breast screening up to 50 years old,” Clark said. “Well, none of us agree with that and none of us do it.

“One of the reasons they went to 50 was because they started saying we are doing all these unnecessary biopsies. People are finding things so we are biopsying things unnecessarily and it is costing a lot of money.”

A new study published in August, Clark said, reconfirmed the need to begin yearly mammograms at 40.

The data shows, he said, that beginning mammograms at 40 increases the chance of surviving the disease by 15 to 20 percent.

“The reason we go at 40 is because the average age of breast cancer is in your 50s, so you want to go 10 years before and start screening for it,” Clark said. “It takes seven to 10 years generally for something that’s bad to turn malignant. So we always want to start screening well before that.”

There are many types of breast cancer. Clark only discussed some of the most common forms during his talk, but said there are key factors that can increase risk.

They included having a first child at an older age or not having children at all, because pregnancies pause the release of hormones that can lead to breast cancer.

Other factors such as being overweight or having a family history of the disease make people more susceptible, Clark said. 

“I enjoy learning about the ways that you can prevent the disease,” B.J. Rushing, who attended the luncheon, said. “I liked learning about the systems so that we can be aware of what to look for. It was interesting to hear about the different types of breast cancers and the treatments.”

Clark focused mostly on the available surgical treatments for the disease, including a mastectomy and lumpectomy, but didn’t spend time discussing chemotherapy options because he said they are constantly changing.

“What we did two years ago is not what we do today,” Clark said.

“It changes. With all the DNA typing and all the stains we do, it is more like a sniper rifle to hit the specific type of cancer you have versus a shotgun to just hope you get something. It has changed tremendously.”

Clark also recommended that women perform self-exams at home, saying, “You know your breast better than we do so the best thing to do is a self-breast exam.”

Paint it pink

The Vicksburg Post will be Painting it Pink Sunday, Oct. 22, to raise awareness for all those impacted by breast cancer — those currently fighting the disease, the survivors and the friends and family of those who have died.

As part of the special edition, The Vicksburg Post is looking to share the stories of all those impacted by the disease, either directly through your own fight or as a participant in a friend or family memberS.

Community members are urged to share their breast cancer stories — or the story of someone they know — with readers of The Vicksburg Post.

Stories should be no longer than 400 words and should be emailed to reporter Brandon O’Connor by end of day on Wednesday, Oct. 18, at Brandon.OConnor@vicksburgpost.com.

The author should include a photo of himself or herself, or the person whose story they are sharing.