Is your older family member or friend ignoring a breast mass? Make sure you ask them!

Image by Danie Franco/ Unsplash

As a breast surgeon, I can't tell you how many times I've seen women come in with a very advanced breast cancer that they ignored for years. Often, these were older women who lived by themselves or who never had children to check in on them, and so their ignored cancer continued to grow and grow. Unfortunately, it's often fear of being told that they would need chemotherapy, breast removal (mastectomy), or even death, that keeps these women from seeking the care they need. And unfortunately it's a vicious cycle. The longer a person waits to address the growing cancer, the more likely one of those unwanted treatments or outcomes is going to happen.

So let's do our older family members and friends a favor, ask them if they have a breast mass that they've been ignoring or if they have not been getting regular mammograms. If they have an ignored breast mass, make sure they get seen by a healthcare professional!