Pink Lemonade Project board member and breast surgical oncologist for Compass Oncology, Dr. Toni Storm said she takes care of over 300 breast cancer patients each year at the Vancouver Cancer Center.
Storm said women in the Pacific Northwest tend to have lower vitamin D levels, and studies show women who are diagnosed with breast cancer are twice as likely to have vitamin D deficiencies.
“Breast cancer is extremely common. It’s one in eight women. If you’re talking about invasive disease, and if you’re talking about the earliest form of the disease, it’s one in six,” Storm said. “So one in six women will develop breast cancer.”
As new data comes out, Storm said the age of women being diagnosed with the disease has decreased, leading the American Cancer Society to recommend screening at age 45. She added that being aware of the disease can help prevent worst-possible outcomes, which is why Breast Cancer Awareness Month is so important, Storm said.
“So when you think about how common this disease is, and you add the fact that it is extremely treatable most of the time, if we’re able to identify it early and being aware of breast cancer, being aware of self-breast exams and being aware of doing your imaging is literally life saving for so many women,” Storm said. “It touches all of us because, even if you haven’t had breast cancer or any cancer yourself, you know somebody who has.”
She said genetics is also an important aspect to be aware of, as well, even for men.
“For the dudes, breast cancer, besides affecting all these women, if you’re talking about genetics, men are often silent carriers, so they can give the genes to their children, their daughters and their sons,” Storm said. “Also men get breast cancer as well, especially if they carry a gene, and I would say I take care of about three or four male breast cancers every year.”
She said not having a family history of breast cancer can be sometimes misleading. Storm added that 85% of women do not carry a gene, but that breast cancer is sporadic.
With a family history of the disease, it is important to start screenings at an even earlier age, Storm said. She said that every woman should have a clinical exam, depending on their family history, starting at age 30, and they should do self-breast exams starting at age 20. Storm added that she has taken care of many women in their 20s with breast cancer.
“So not having family history is not protective,” Storm said. “Having a family history just increases your risk dramatically. So, if somebody has a strong family history, and they have first-degree relatives, whether their genetics are positive or not diagnosed with breast cancers at young ages, they should start their mammograms 10 years younger than that first-degree relative.”
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends women with average risk to get a mammogram every two years starting at age 40 through age 74, in contrast to the American Cancer Society's recommendation of starting at age 45.
Storm specializes in oncoplastic surgery, which she described as “pretty cancer surgery.” She said oncoplastic surgery for breast cancer is a relatively newer practice, having become a popular, viable treatment option in the ’90s.
“I’m a breast surgical oncologist, which means that I cut out cancers and take care of breast disease … and I’m able to bring in a lot of what we call oncoplastics, which just means that we’re able to do pretty cancer surgery or preserve the aesthetic of the breast, maybe even sometimes make the breast cuter,” Storm said. “If somebody’s really droopy, we are able to give them a lift as part of their surgery or maybe they need mastectomies, but we are able to do nipple-sparing mastectomies, skin-sparing mastectomies with reconstruction and offer women the ability to preserve that self esteem.”
Storm said her patient’s self esteem and satisfaction often isn’t with the outcome of the surgery but with them being able to take part of the decision-making process.
For more information about breast cancer, go to https://www.cancer.org/cancer/types/breast-cancer.html.
