Screening For And Prevention Of Breast Cancer

Screening for breast cancer can save lives. This is the reason why the affordable care act has made breast cancer screening and counseling free for patients. Also, all health plans are required to offer this coverage without any additional charges.

siam.pukkato/Shutterstock

The number of fatalities from breast cancer exceeds 40,000 every year, making it a leading cause of cancer-related deaths. However, the survival rates increase up to 98% when the cancer is diagnosed early. Doctors use mammograms when conducting screening tests to identify cancer that is developing in its early stages.

Your chances of survival drop to 25% if the cancer is detected at a later stage; by then, it may have spread beyond the breast. Therefore, getting a mammogram done is worth the effort.

[su_quote class=”cust-pagination”]“Breast cancer might turn out to have a close resemblance to gastric cancer. And this kind of reorganization of cancer in terms of its internal genetic anatomy has really changed the way we treat and approach cancer in general.” — Siddhartha Mukherjee [/su_quote]

When Can You Get Mammograms Free of Charge?

Once you are past the age of 48, a free mammogram will be available to you every one or two years.

Blue Planet Earth/Shutterstock

Do You Need To Make an Appointment For A Mammogram?

Some centers that conduct mammography tests may request for a prescription from your primary health care physician or other specialists. You can request for a prescription during your checkup.

Are Mammograms Free for Everyone At Any Time?

Juice Flair/Shutterstock

Insurance companies have certain policies that outline the specifics in the summary of benefits offered by the insurance policy. You have the benefit of having a mammogram done every one or two years as long as you do not have any symptoms or lumps in your breast.

These policies change when your doctor discovers lumps and suggests mammography. This is because insurance companies consider such advice as a diagnostic test and, therefore, you have to pay deductibles and co-pays just as you would for any other tests. Insurance companies have specified the kinds of tests are covered for free in the policy document. You should go through the document to gain a better understanding about the same.

You may be eligible for certain free tests if anyone in your family has cancer. The oncologist will ask you a few questions about your family’s medical history. Based on the answers you provide, they will conduct certain genetic tests to understand if you are carrying some of the genes.

Chemoprevention Counseling Is Also Offered For Free

You could be advised to lower your risk of breast cancer with the help of certain medications that block the effects of estrogen that causes the growth of breast cancer. The approach is identified as chemoprevention. If you are at a high-risk of getting breast cancer, free counseling will help you understand whether chemoprevention can help you. You can also get counseling free of charge to understand the preventive measures you can take to manage the risk factors of developing breast cancer.

You must, however, understand that you are only eligible for free counseling, so you have to pay for medications and the associated doctor appointments. The payments will depend on the deductible of your health plan and insurance amounts.

Slava Dumchev/Shutterstock

Prevention

Breast cancer in some ways is associated with lifestyles, and the risk factors include obesity, a poor diet, and alcohol abuse. If you maintain a healthy lifestyle from the very onset, the risks of breast cancer are not likely to gain prominence in you unless you are also dealing with a genetic factor.

[su_quote class=”cust-pagination”]“Every woman needs to know the facts. And the fact is, when it comes to breast cancer, every woman is at risk.” —Debbie Wasserman Schultz [/su_quote]

Treating breast cancer after its diagnosis can be pretty painful and cause plenty of stress. To avoid the unwanted hassles, it would be better to take advantage of the free prevention and screening methods to test for breast cancer.