General Breast Cancer Information

  • 184,200 new cases per year in the U.S.
  • 8,900 new cases per year in Illinois
  • 41,200 deaths per year in U.S.
  • 2,000 deaths per year in Illinois
  • 1 in 8 women will get breast cancer in their lifetime
  • Since 1960 more than 960,000 American women have died from breast cancer, that's more than the total casualties of WWII, the Korean war, the Vietnam war, and the Persian Gulf war combined.
  • Only 25% of all breast cancer patients have an identifiable risk factor.

    Risk factors include:
  • Being female
  • Early menarchy
  • Late menopause
  • Children not being born until after age 30
  • Family history


    Major risk factors:
  • Previous breast cancer
  • Family history (more than one family member)
  • A pre-menopausal 1st degree relative, or a male
  • atypical ductal hyperplasia & atypical labula hyperplasia

    History
    % of total breast cancer
    Lifetime risk of patient
    Sporatic
    70-80%
    3%
    Familial
    15-20%
    15-30%
    Hereditary
    5-10%
    50-60%
    Genetic
    1-10%
    80-90%

    Decreasing your risk:
  • Healthy diet - lots of green leafy vegetables
  • Vitamin E succinate
  • Flaxseed
  • Excercise - (breast cancer risk has been shown to decrease by 40% in women who excercised 3 times weekly from teens into adulthood.)
  • Tamoxifen - decreased risk by 50%
  • Prophylactic Mastectomy - decreased risk by 99.5%

    Breast Cancer Screening:
  • Monthly self breast exam - beginning at age 20, we recommend the Mammacare method
  • Annual clinical breast exam - once annual pap smears start (age 18 or sooner if sexually active)
  • Annual Mammogram beginning at age 40

On-line mammogram information available

Doctors at the medical school at the University of California at San Francisco have set up a Web page that provides information for women on mammograms.

Called Potential Benefits and Risks of Mammograms, the site walks the reader through the decision-making process with 17 questions and answers. For example, one question points to a mammogram's ability to find an abnormality in the milk ducts of the breast, called carcinoma in situ. One issue for a woman who has this diagnosis is that not all of these abnormalities will develop into cancer if left untreated, according to information on the Web page.

The Web page contains questions that women with this diagnosis can ask their doctors to decide what is the correct action -- or inaction -- for them. The Web page address is http://www.ucfs.edu

Source: Health Facts

Our mission is to provide breast care to women in Springfield and central and southern Illinois that is :

Patient Centered

Common Breast Care Practice: A 55 year old woman detects a lump in her breast on self-exam

Day 1 Visit to Primary Care Physician
Day 2 Mammography
Day 4 Visit to Surgeon
Day 7 Excisional Biopsy in Operating Room
Day 10 Visit to Surgeon for Biopsy Result
Day 12 Visit to Radiation Oncologist, Plastic Surgeon
Day 14 Return to Surgeon for Treatment Decision

Model for the Breast Center at SIU: A 55-year-old woman detects a lump in her breast on self-exam

Day 1     One visit to one site for:

  • Evaluation by Surgeon
  • Mammography, Immediate Interpretation
  • FNA Biopsy
  • Discussion of Options with Surgeon, Radiation Oncologist and Plastic Surgeon
  • Outline of Possible Treatment Plans Based on Physician Consensus
  • Patient Education Materials Provided

Comprehensive.

Core services at the Breast Center include:

  • Community Education
  • Genetic Testing and Counseling
  • Evaluation of Benign Disease
  • Clinical Breast Examination
  • Screening Mammography
  • Diagnostic Services
  • Breast Cancer Treatment
  • Second Opinion Service
  • Rehabilitation
  • Support Groups
  • Prosthetics


    Along with these core services the Breast Center provides on-site diagnostic services which include:

  • Diagnostic Mammography
  • Ultrasound
  • MRI
  • Sestimibi
  • Free Hand Biopsy (FNA, Core)
  • Ultrasound Guided Biopsy (FNA, Core)
  • Stereotactic Biopsy (Core)
  • Open Surgical Biopsy

    Finally, the Breast Center also offers second opinion services including:

  • Pathology Review
  • Review of Imaging Studies
  • Surgical Recommendations
  • Adjuvant Therapy Recommendations
  • interdisciplinary Review of Patients with Complex or Advanced Disease

 

Interdisciplinary

The Breast Center at SIU is a interdisciplinary facility providing exceptional care in the fields of:

  • Medical Oncology
  • Pathology
  • Plastic Surgery
  • Primary Care
  • Radiation Oncology
  • Radiology
  • Surgery

Research Based

The Research Division at the Regional Cancer Center offers a variety of clinical trials for breast cancer. The purpose of research is to compare current and new treatments in order to find more effective and better tolerated therapies. The Research Division is affiliated with numerous National Cancer Institute-sponsored research bases across the United States. These include M.D. Anderson, Southwest Oncology Group, and the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP).

Presently, we offer trials for the treatment of adjuvant, recurrent and metastatic breast cancers using different chemotherapies and hormonal therapies.