Breast Cancer Screening: When Should it Begin?

Dr. Karl Kabasele, CBC's medical specialist, has taken the opportunity to answer health-related questions through Your Community Blog. The question for this week was: "When should I start getting screened for breast cancer?"

Although detecting any sort of cancer early is essential to surviving the disease, Dr. Karl gives specific ages for breast cancer screening under two categories: average and high risk.

For those with average risk, "the best evidence tells us that regular mammograms are a good idea between the ages of 50 and 74. On the other hand, if you're at higher risk of breast cancer... you may need to start having mammograms earlier than age 50."

He concludes by saying one should review the possibilities of getting the disease with one's doctor, and to "come up with a personalized plan for breast cancer screening."

Knowing your individual risk mainly revolves around the history of cancer within your family. So, if it is very common, then you may be at higher risk.

References

(1) http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourcommunity/2012/04/ask-dr-karl-when-should-i-start-getting-screened-for-breast-cancer.html

Volunteering at the Local Hospital

After receiving the registration papers to the hospital, it took me a grand total of two months to meet all the requirements demanded by the organization: I had to get two tuberculosis shots, two measles, mumps & rubella (MMR) immunization shots, blood work, and two reference letters by qualified referees. It was all worth it, though: I got a call back within a week after submitting my application. My medical experience begins in the day surgery department where I am to comfort patients through subtle conversation when requested to do so. Among other things, I am also to bring them water, change bed sheets, and other simple tasks.


I asked for close patient contact, and this particular placement seems as though it is just the right fit for me. Maybe I'll be granted the opportunity to get some "shadowing" in as well... We'll have to see how that works out.

The interview conducted by the volunteer office manager was interesting: four of us were interviewed at the same time. We were asked basic questions like "why do you want to volunteer here, and what do you hope to gain from this experience?" When it was my turn to answer that specific question, I had said, "I'd like to learn more about myself, and whether or not medicine as a professional field is really for me. How else am I to really know? For too long, I have focused on attempting to convince others that I would fit in to this industry, but I think the one I truly need to convince is myself. That is why I am here - to provide answers to these personal questions of mine. It is the next essential step for me." As you may have noticed, I did not mention anything about my "desire to help others" as I felt this is obvious and it would be said by the other three - and it was. I took a different route and was happy with my response overall. Besides, if one is interested in volunteering at a hospital, chances are that one "likes to help others."

Avoiding the straightforward (and redundant) answers to these questions is something I've been practicing. Moreover, instead of staging what I am going to say for the sake of the interview, I have learned to put a lot of thought into my goals, that way I come off as natural, and not staged. I feel this will be especially important for the medical school interviews when the time comes.