Iowa Radiology Blog

Following a mastectomy to remove breast cancer, some women undergo reconstructive surgery, and some do not. The decision is very personal, and the right choice for each woman is the one that best supports her physical and mental health. Some women delay breast reconstruction surgery so they can take their time to decide. Sometimes, however, reconstruction isn’t possible due to health complications or cost barriers.

If you have had or are planning to have a mastectomy following a breast cancer diagnosis, you may decide to have reconstructive surgery to restore the shape of your breasts. To make the best choices for your body, mind, and lifestyle, you need information. Here are five things you should know about breast reconstruction.

If you’re a long-term smoker, you probably don’t need to be reminded that it’s bad for your health. You understand that smoking makes it more likely that you’ll develop lung cancer. If it were easy to just quit, you would have done it by now.

It’s hard to find what you’re not looking for.

If you were asked to picture a cancer patient, a young adult is probably not the first person who comes to mind. That’s only natural, considering more than 90% of cancers are diagnosed in people over age 45. Likewise, young adults tend not to think much about the possibility of getting cancer. Most tend to be fairly healthy, and it’s common for young people to see doctors only when they have a pressing need. Even when they do visit a doctor with symptoms that could indicate cancer, their symptoms are more likely to be attributed to other, more likely, causes.

Are you wondering if now is a good time to get tested for lung cancer, even if you’re not currently experiencing any symptoms? Getting a screening early is a good idea to make sure you’re healthy or identify potential cancer before it spreads. 

It’s been understood for decades that tobacco smoking is the single leading cause of lung cancer, causing an estimated 1.5 to 2 million deaths per year. Eighty-five percent of lung cancers occur in current or former smokers. This year, there is a new reason to quit smoking: COVID-19. Recent studies indicate that when infected with the novel coronavirus, tobacco smokers are more likely to develop severe infections, to need mechanical ventilation, and to die as a result of the illness. This is not surprising, given that smoking causes damage that inhibits the lungs’ ability to clean and repair themselves. Along with getting plenty of exercise, eating healthy, and managing stress, avoiding cigarettes is one if the top ways to keep your immune system in good working order during the pandemic.

Breast Cancer Risk

Breast cancer affects hundreds of thousands of women in the U.S. each year. On average, a woman has approximately a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer during her lifetime and a 1 in 38 chance of dying from it. The American Cancer Society estimates that among women in the U.S., 268,600 new cases of invasive breast cancer and 62,930 cases of carcinoma in situ will be diagnosed, and 41,760 women will die of breast cancer in 2019 alone.[1] Facts like these highlights the importance of taking steps to prevent breast cancer as well as identifying and treating breast cancers that do develop as early as possible.

It is estimated that in the U.S., one in 285 children will be diagnosed with cancer before their twentieth birthday. While survival of childhood cancer has increased dramatically in recent decades, the incidence of cancer in children has also been on the rise. Cancer remains the number one cause of death by disease among children in the U.S., resulting more childhood fatalities than any cause other than accidents. In order to change this, more research is necessary to find the causes of and more effective treatments for childhood cancer.

Iowa Radiology is proud to announce the arrival of abbreviated breast MRI, the latest advance in breast cancer screening technology. Breast MRI allows radiologists to more accurately detect early-stage breast cancers, especially in patients with dense breasts. However, traditional breast MRI comes with a high cost that insurance companies typically cover only for patients who are at significantly elevated risk of breast cancer. The abbreviated breast MRI exam is much quicker and less expensive than a traditional MRI, but it can detect even very small cancers with similar accuracy.

National Cancer Survivors Day

The first Sunday in June, we celebrate life with National Cancer Survivors Day. Each year, there is more reason to celebrate as people survive cancer at higher and higher rates. From 1991 to 2016, deaths from cancer plummeted 27%, saving more than 2.6 million lives. As of January of this year, 5% of the US population—16.9 million people—are cancer survivors, 67% of whom have survived at least five years after their diagnosis. To continue this positive trend, it’s essential that we continue to prioritize cancer research and help to ensure that patients get access to the quality care that they need.