VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - All month long, News 3 is raising awareness of breast cancer.
Apart from skin cancers, the American Cancer Society reports breast cancer is the most common cancer in women throughout our country.
READ: Making Strides in Hampton Roads: American Cancer Society to host events, sign up now
But how does it look here in Hampton Roads?
Lisa Strader, an English teacher at Bayside High School in Virginia Beach, has been a breast cancer survivor for nearly 9 years.
“I'm very fortunate,” Strader said.
She recalls getting the news of her diagnosis in 2014 after a routine mammogram.
“It saved my life,” Strader said of her mammogram. “I found it early, and I learned lessons from my mother's experiences.”
Strader was just 17 when her mom died after battling Stage 4 breast cancer.
“With my mom, it was we didn't talk about it,” she said. “I learned not to mess around with it.”
After being treated, she has dedicated herself to volunteering and being a resource in her community.
“If I can do that for others, then I've potentially saved a life,” she told News 3.
Meanwhile, Dr. Milton Brown, Vice Dean for Research at Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS), is collaborating with colleagues to study breast cancer's presence in southeast Virginia.
“In Hampton Roads, if you just focus on this area, Virginia Beach has the highest rate of breast cancer, and one of the highest rates in Virginia,” Dr. Brown said.
Dr. Brown broke down local incidence and mortality data. Incidence, according to Dr. Brown, means the rate of diagnoses.
“Virginia Beach has a high incidence rate, much higher than the Eastern Shore's, much higher than Eastern Shore's, but they have a low mortality [rate],” he said. “Norfolk, they have a high incidence, but they have a higher mortality. They're not only detected more, their people are dying more.”
Brown said they're looking for answers on why local rates are high while addressing disparities.
“The rates for African-American women are higher, and the death rate is higher,” Dr. Brown said. “Does that mean that the tumors may have some differences? That's possible. Could it be possible for access to healthcare? A number of determinants will effect that outcome.” “We should be focusing on educating, providing them access, and getting that screening,” Dr. Omer Ali of Virginia Oncology Associates added.
Meanwhile, Brown said EVMS’s strategy includes what's called "Health Literacy," online educational programs and information.
“It's a computer program. You go online, you have a scratch code, you scan it, it puts you into a portal, and you select the information that you want to learn about,” Dr. Brown said. “As you answer the questions, what's interesting is your name is entered into a raffle. Your name is entered into a scratch off, and you receive prizes from local businesses who are engaged in this.”
“It's not just good enough to do the science, perform the science,” Dr. Brown said. “We actually have to get that work out in the community.”
EVMS staff are also investing in potential therapies and new technology to attack breast cancer.
The technology includes individual cells able to be seen up close, in essence, what EVMS scientists consider, “cancer's fingerprints.” “That technology allows us to look at the type of cells that are the culprit for why patients don't do well,” Dr. Brown said. “That one cell that's kind of a "memory cell.” If that cell is left behind, it can help cause a relapse of patients and cause that tumor to come back. We want to kill that cell.”
For Strader, these investments give her hope. Her message to others in Hampton Roads is asking you to invest in yourself.
“The sooner you take care of it, the better,” she said.
The American Cancer Society recommends women at average risk from 45 to 54 years old getting annual mammograms. That can be switched to every other year from age 55 and older.
If you're at a higher risk, ACS officials recommend you getting a mammogram and breast MRI every year starting at age 30.
