How Breast Density Affects Women's Health | Hot Flashes & Cool Topics

Breast Cancer Risks: How Breast Density Affects Women’s Health

https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ts7thv/Leslei_Final6y60t.mp3

EPISODE SUMMARY:

As midlife women, it’s vital that we continue to keep tabs on our body’s health. When it comes to our breasts, getting regular checkups and tests done becomes increasingly more important as we age. Most women receive yearly mammograms to screen for breast cancer, however, just getting a mammogram may not be sufficient. When Leslie Ferris Yerger received her Stage IV Breast Cancer diagnosis, it was after having had her mammogram cleared by doctors. For her, it wasn’t until they tested an abnormality in her bones that she received the right diagnosis and started treatments. After going through all of this, Leslie decided that sharing her story with the world could help premenopausal and menopausal women understand the risks of breast cancer and the steps they should be taking. So many women don’t have the proper knowledge on what tests to get, and through Leslie’s frequent talks and her book, Probably Benign, she’s giving midlife women a firsthand look at the importance of being educated. In today’s episode, we sat down with Leslie to discuss her journey with Stage IV Breast Cancer, the importance of knowing your breast density, Leslie’s experience walking the Camino de Santiago, and why just getting a mammogram isn’t enough when screening for Breast Cancer.

Leslie Ferris Yerger

In her own words:

Leslie Ferris Yerger is a Tedx speaker, first time author of Probably Benign, and a women’s advocate with a laser focused mission. Leslie was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer in November 2017 after an ‘all clear’ mammogram and ultrasound, experiencing first-hand the failings of our current breast cancer screening technologies. She is now determined to

advance the next generation in breast cancer screening, so that her story does not become your story. Armed with humor and wisdom, courage and grace, knowledge and scientific data, Leslie speaks and writes in order to empower women everywhere to ask, learn, insist, and persist in order to get the breast cancer screening they so very much deserve. Leslie draws on the stamina and confidence she gained walking the 500-mile Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain to fuel her passion and energy to expedite change in breast cancer screening, so that more women with breast cancer become survivors.

BE THE BOSS of YOUR Breast Cancer Screening

20-30 minutes plus an extra 15 minutes for a Q&A
Available in-person or virtual
Great for
- Lunch & Learns
- Club Meetings
- Events
- Women’s Empowerment & Health
- Book Clubs
Why you must BE THE BOSS
- Mammography can fail the very women who need it the most
  - Including 3-D
- Mammography has been oversold
- 26 million women are underserved by screening mammography alone
  - Including 3-D mammography, DBT, tomosynthesis
- 2/3 of all premenopausal women have dense breasts
- 71 of all breast cancers are in women with dense breasts
- Breast density is one of the highest risk factors for getting breast cancer
- Mammography finds less than ½ of all cancers in dense breast
Walk away knowing how to BE THE BOSS
- You will know how to: ASK, LEARN, INSIST, and PERSIST
  - ASK
    - How to find out your own breast density
  - LEARN
    - What your supplemental breast cancer screening options are, and how to advocate for more
  - INSIST
    - How to talk with your doctor about density and screening
  - PERSIST
    - Until you get the breast cancer screening you deserve