Olivia Munn arrives Jan. 9 on the Governors Awards on Tuesday on the Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles.
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
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Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
Olivia Munn arrives Jan. 9 on the Governors Awards on Tuesday on the Dolby Ballroom in Los Angeles.
Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
When Olivia Munn revealed this week that she was recognized with breast most cancers and had a double mastectomy, she urged individuals to ask their medical doctors to determine their rating on a breast most cancers danger calculator.
Munn stated her rating prompted additional assessments and the invention of an aggressive type of the illness.
![If you're 40, it's time to start mammograms, according to new guidelines](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/05/08/gettyimages-917730122_sq-bca6f7afe29285cc5cd5d261b65e007718e33099-s100-c15.jpg)
“I am fortunate. We caught it with sufficient time that I had choices,” the 43-year-old actor posted on Instagram. “I would like the identical for any girl who might need to face this at some point.”
A have a look at the calculator, the Breast Most cancers Danger Evaluation Device:
What’s the Breast Most cancers Danger Evaluation Device?
It is a questionnaire on the Nationwide Most cancers Institute’s web site that’s designed for well being care suppliers to make use of with sufferers. The software acquired a “dramatic improve in visits” since Munn’s publish, in line with an NCI spokesperson.
First developed in 1989, it was initially based mostly on knowledge from solely white ladies. Updates have made it extra correct for Black, Hispanic and Asian and Pacific Islander ladies.
![We're not dying of metastatic breast cancer. We're living with it](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2021/12/09/metastatic-breast-cancer-life_sq-c6b38ad5ee6696856d826c75c291cb465adae497-s100-c15.jpg)
It does not take the whole lot into consideration and may’t really predict whether or not anyone individual will get breast most cancers.
It asks about age, age at first menstrual interval, age when the girl’s first little one was born or if the girl has not given start, household historical past of breast most cancers, previous breast biopsies, outcomes of previous biopsies, race and ethnicity.
The result’s a lifetime danger and a five-year danger based mostly on components which have been tied to a better danger of breast most cancers. For comparability, it additionally offers a median danger for U.S. ladies of the identical age, race and ethnicity.
Dr. Elizabeth Comen, who treats breast most cancers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Most cancers Middle in New York, stated ladies ought to do the evaluation with their medical doctors, not by themselves.
“It is essential to speak to your physician about doing that collectively, after which making selections about what imaging methods are applicable” based mostly on the outcomes, Comen stated. Munn’s excessive rating prompted extra imaging assessments that are not beneficial for girls of common danger.
Ought to everybody use the software?
It is not the perfect danger calculator for some ladies. In case you have a sure gene mutation or a earlier historical past of breast most cancers, it is not for you. It additionally does not take note of dense breast tissue, which may make most cancers tougher to identify.
![When Men Get Breast Cancer, They Enter A World Of Pink](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2016/02/05/breast-cancer_sq-d6ab61a1b09c875ed7c3aa88b7d107be6fccc322-s100-c15.jpg)
The Nationwide Most cancers Institute says the software could underestimate danger in Black ladies with earlier biopsies and Hispanic ladies born exterior the U.S.
“The mannequin wants additional validation for Hispanic ladies and different subgroups,” the institute’s web site says. “Researchers are conducting extra research to assemble extra knowledge to check and enhance the mannequin.”
There are dozens of comparable instruments, stated Ashley Johnson, a nurse practitioner at Vanderbilt College Medical Middle, who has studied them. Many well being teams advocate that girls over age 25 have such an evaluation, she stated, however there’s not sufficient proof to say which software is greatest.
What do the scores imply?
A five-year danger rating of two%, for instance, means a girl’s estimated danger of growing breast most cancers over the following 5 years is 2%.
A lifetime danger rating of seven% means a girl’s estimated danger of growing breast most cancers via age 90 is 7%.
![The breast cancer burden in lower income countries is even worse than we thought](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2024/02/01/breast-cancer-promo_sq-af92644f1f645e97043284873c55b9e8fef57ff5-s100-c15.png)
Mammogram pointers are for girls at common danger, stated Dr. Arif Kamal, chief affected person officer on the American Most cancers Society. Pointers differ however the society says ladies can select to start out annual mammograms at age 40.
“Understanding your danger begins even earlier than the age of 40,” Kamal stated. That is the place a danger calculator will help.
How can I decrease my danger of breast most cancers?
Everybody has some danger of most cancers, Comen stated, however some way of life modifications can scale back the probabilities.
She suggests avoiding processed meals, including train and power coaching to your routine, limiting alcohol and never smoking.