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Friends For Life: Digging into the genetics behind breast cancer

Every person is at risk for cancer, but each person's risk is individual.

Karla Bultman, genetic counselor with the Mercy Health Lacks Cancer Center, stopped by The Exchange to discuss appropriate options for screening and management of breast cancer risk.

Since everyone has a risk for developing cancer, there are recommendations for every person to undergo surveillance for cancer. In the general population, these recommendations include women having mammograms every year starting at age 40 to screen for breast cancer and getting PAP smears regularly to screen for cervical cancer.

Men and women should have colonoscopies starting at age 50.

For individuals who have a much higher cancer risk due to a hereditary cause in their family, it’s typically recommended that checks occur much earlier and more frequent screening as well as preventative surgeries in some cases.

As the only centers of their kind in West Michigan, Mercy Health Comprehensive Breast Centers deliver prompt, personal, specialized care for all aspects of breast health, from screening mammograms and lifetime cancer risk assessments to, when necessary, the latest surgical procedures and treatments.

For more information on Mercy Health Comprehensive Breast Centers, visit their website.

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