Breast Cancer AMA Week: We’re experts with Bright Pink, here to answer
your questions about the latest improvements in breast cancer risk
assessment, and how young women can become advocates for their own
breast health.
Abstract
Hi Reddit! We’re experts with Bright Pink. Helping young women receive
better breast & ovarian healthcare is what we do best. Today we’re here
to talk about breast cancer risk assessment. Many people, including some
health care providers, believe that young women in their 20s and 30s
don’t need to worry about breast and ovarian cancer. But the urgency is
real. It’s critical to identify women who are at increased risk— based
on genetic history— in time to initiate early screening and risk
reduction. Additionally, research has shown that early adulthood is when
people establish their lifetime health behaviors, making it a critical
time to educate women on healthy lifestyles and the changes can reduce
their risk. Cancer prevention starts with appropriately identifying your
risk level and working with your healthcare provider on a personal risk
management plan. Bright Pink educates both young women and healthcare
providers on risk assessment and management through research-based
digital tools, in-person workshops and social media. In the last two
years alone Bright Pink has helped over 400,000 women assess their risk
and trained over 6,000 healthcare providers to give better breast and
ovarian healthcare to their patients. Here’s a bit about those of us
answering your questions today: Rebecca Bouck: I am Vice President of
Programs at Bright Pink. I can discuss how an advocacy group is able to
successfully reach and educate over half a million women on their risk
for breast and ovarian cancer. Dr. Huma Q. Rana, MD: I am a board
certified Internist and Geneticist and the Clinical Director of the
Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention at Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute. I am also an Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School
and a Medical Lecturer for Bright Pink. I can explain how health
providers assess and manage breast cancer risk in their patients, and
the role that genetics can play. If you would like to assess your own
breast cancer risk, visit Webby Award-winning AssessYourRisk.org. You
can also find more information about our work at BrightPink.org and
ExploreYourGenetics.org. We’ll be back at 1 pm EST (10 am PST, 6 pm UTC)
to answer your questions, ask us anything! Note from mods: if you are
interested in issues surrounding men and breast cancer, please check out
the AMA we hosted earlier this week with the Male Breast Cancer
Coalition! EDIT: We have concluded our AMA and will no longer answer new
questions. Thanks to everyone for bringing up such important topics.