LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – Dr. Karla Daniele is a breast surgical oncologist here in Lubbock, helping patients at UMC and the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center.
Dr. Daniele says while cases are continuing to climb, there’s a certain age demographic that’s seeing the effects more frequently.
“Since about 2012, we’ve seen a steady increase in incidents of about 1%,” Daniele said. “In young patients, that increased risk or incidents has been about 1.4%”
Young breast cancer patients refers to anyone under the age of 50. The American Cancer Society reports 1 in 10 women who fall into this category are being diagnosed every year, leading to the number one cause of cancer death for women ages 25 to 49.
“They’re abnormal cells that grown in someone’s breast tissue,” Daniele said. “The natural progression of that cancer can be just locally destructive, grown and replacing the normal breast tissue, or starting to spread to other body parts.”
That’s why Dr. Daniele is encouraging women to either get early screenings or go over risk assessments with their personal health care provider, especially if breast cancer runs in the family.
“The earlier we diagnose the breast cancer, the easier it’s going to be for us to treat it,” Daniele said. “We start from stage 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4. Stages 0-3 are treatable and curable. Stage 4, that’s where we find it somewhere else in the body. It’s treatable, unfortunately, it’s not curable.”
Dr. Daniele says if someone is diagnosed with breast cancer, the journey may not look the same for everyone.
“Some people may start with surgery first and then other care afterwards,” Daniele said. “Some people might start with chemotherapy or systemic therapy first, then surgery, then radiation.”
Catching problems early can make treatment easier.
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