As October brings Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a new breast radiologist serving the Treasure Coast and Space Coast says the best protection is simple: get screened, and don’t wait for symptoms.
Dr. Catherine Grey Kasper joined Orlando Health in September. She is the first dedicated breast radiologist serving Orlando Health in Indian River County, and she provides care at Orlando Health Sebastian River Hospital and Orlando Health Melbourne Hospital.
“I tell my patients that early detection saves lives,” Kasper said. “Many women feel healthy and have no symptoms, but screening mammograms can identify breast cancer before it can be felt.”
Kasper said most women she diagnoses never expected to hear the words “You have cancer.” Many have no symptoms, and some have no family history. She said a common misconception is that a woman who feels healthy or has no relatives with breast cancer can safely put off a mammogram. Most women diagnosed with the disease do not have a first-degree relative who had it.
When cancer is caught early, Kasper said, it is usually confined to one area of the breast. That often means less aggressive treatment, “so maybe just surgery,” she said. Screening can find a tumor too small to feel, before it spreads to the lymph nodes.
Orlando Health points to American Cancer Society guidelines.
Women ages 40 to 44 have the option to begin annual screening mammograms. Women ages 45 to 54 should get one every year. Women 55 and older can continue yearly screenings or switch to every other year, depending on their health and a discussion with their provider.
Kasper also urged women to get a risk assessment, which estimates a woman’s lifetime chance of developing breast cancer. She said women whose lifetime risk is above 20% may need to start screening much earlier, with MRI exams, and may alternate MRIs and mammograms.
Kasper stressed that self-awareness matters too. “You’re going to be your best doctor,” she said she tells patients. “You’re going to feel something before I can maybe even see it.”
She said a lump should never be dismissed as harmless, even in women who have been told they have fibrocystic breasts or benign fibroadenomas, which are common and noncancerous.
“You never want to assume that’s what you have,” Kasper said. “If you feel something new, it’s so important for you to get in and see your doctor.”
Kasper said advances in imaging are improving detection and making biopsies faster and less painful than they were a decade ago. She said artificial intelligence can compare a woman’s mammograms across years and flag changes. “A lot of people seem intimidated by AI, but that actually helps us become better,” she said.
Kasper said keeping up with screenings is about more than health. “It’s very important that women are up on their health and take good care of themselves,” she said.