“Intuitively, it makes sense to consider that early detection of second breast cancers will improve prognosis, since breast cancer survivors have a long-term risk of developing further disease or relapse in either breast,” Nehmat Houssami of the University of Sydney in Australia and colleagues reported.

 

Their findings were based on the analysis of 1,044 women who had attended a hospital in Florence, Italy, between 1980 and 2005 and developed a second breast cancer. The majority of tumors were identified by a mammogram, but the results show that a significant number, 14 percent, were picked up only by clinical examination. Moreover, detection of second breast cancers in the asymptomatic state improved survival by 27 percent to 47 percent.

 

Mammograms are among the best early detection methods, as they can detect breast cancer up to two years before it is large enough to be felt.

 

Regular mammograms are often recommended as a preventive measure, particularly for women over the age of forty-five, who have a greater incidence of breast cancer.

 

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), breast cancer is the second cause of cancer-related death, lagging only behind lung cancer. It is indeed a type of cancer that has increased survival probability; however around 40,480 women died from the disease in 2008, according to the ACS.