Breast cancer mortality rates are on the decline. According to the American Cancer Society, there’s been a 44% drop in breast cancer deaths since 1989.

Why? The answer is two-fold — advancements in early detection through annual screenings and state-of-the-art treatments.

Finding breast cancer early, before it has a chance to grow and spread, presents the best chances of survival for patients. This is why annual screenings are important. They are the most reliable tool in the toolbox to detect cancer early.

It is recommended that women aged 40 years and older, who are also at average risk of developing breast cancer, should have yearly screening mammograms.

The screening recommendation for women determined to be at high risk for developing breast cancer is an annual mammogram and annual MRI starting at the age of 40 or 10 years before when the youngest family member was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Being at high risk of developing breast cancer is determined by numerous factors.

Some factors that can cause a woman to be at high risk are a personal history of breast cancer, a family history of breast cancer, a genetic mutation linked to breast cancer (including BRCA1 and BRCA2), and prior chest radiation before the age of 30.

The average risk for developing breast cancer is 12% to 13%. A woman is considered high risk if her lifetime risk of developing breast cancer is 20% or more. Other high-risk factors include genetic syndromes like Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, Cowden Syndrome or Bannayan-Riley-Ruvalcaba syndrome or having a first-degree relative with these syndromes.

To calculate lifetime risk, providers have several assessment tools available that can estimate a woman’s breast cancer risk. These tools evaluate a combination of factors that include first- and second-degree family history, a person’s medical history and many other factors.

The same American Cancer Society data that shows a decline in mortality rates also revealed that breast cancer incidences have increased, rising by 1% per year between 2012 and 2021. Further, this American Cancer Society report indicated that most of these “cases are largely confined to localized-stage cancers, which have not spread from the breast, and hormone receptor-positive disease (either estrogen positive or progesterone positive), the most common type of breast cancer.”

The increase in incidence und erscores the importance of regular screenings. It is through annual screening that breast cancer can often be found early, before it’s metastasized, giving patients an improved chance at positive outcomes.

In the Mahoning Valley, the Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center (JACBCC) was created to deliver the most accurate prevention, early detection, diagnosis and support services close to home. From ultrasounds, MRIs, 3D mammograms and breast molecular imaging to bone density scans and general X-rays, the JACBCC has everything a patient needs in one convenient location. Patients also have access to an interdisciplinary team of providers composed of radiologists, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pathologists, surgeons and geneticists.

Women should talk with their health care providers to determine when they should have a screening mammogram. Screenings save lives.

Nicole Reyes, MD, is a breast surgeon with the Mercy Health – Joanie Abdu Comprehensive Breast Care Center. She is a graduate of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed her fellowship in Breast Surgical Oncology at Cleveland Clinic Akron General.

She treats a wide spectrum of breast diseases and is passionate about advanced surgical techniques including minimally invasive breast surgery, oncoplastic surgery, nipple-sparing mastectomy, high risk disease, and treatment of recurrent breast cancers.