"Early detection is the key to a cure" -  Kate Jackson's Weapon Against Breast Cancer

While many women may wonder whether they need a mammogram, given the ongoing debate about the X-ray procedure's benefits and costs, actress Kate Jackson is certain where she stands. "Get a mammogram; get it early, and get it yearly," says the former Charlie's Angel, who credits having a breast X-ray (while she was starring in the TV series The Scarecrow and Mrs. King) with saving her life. The issue is crucial, given that about 200,000 American women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year and nearly 40,000 die of the disease.
"I am grateful that my doctor suggested that I have a mammogram when she did and that I woke up one morning and followed that suggestion," says Jackson, 52. That mammogram showed a small growth in Jackson's left breast, which turned out to be malignant. Four days later, she underwent a lumpectomy, in which the tumor and a small amount of healthy breast tissue around it were removed.
A year later, Jackson's follow-up mammogram showed everything was normal. But the following year, another X-ray revealed microscopic cancerous cells in the same breast. Jackson quickly underwent surgery to remove part of the breast. "Fearing how you will look is not something that should keep you away from the doctor," says Jackson, who had reconstructive plastic surgery after her partial mastectomy. "Living is more important."
Now cancer-free for more than a decade, she continues to act, having appeared in the TV movie Satan's School for Girls, the independent feature film A Mother's Testimony, and in guest spots on a number of TV shows, including Hollywood Squares, Just Shoot Me, and Ally McBeal, for which she was nominated for an Emmy.
The actress is also a spokesperson for breast cancer causes (for which she received the Israel Cancer Research Fund Humanitarian Award in 1999). "I am very lucky that my cancer was found at such an early stage, when it could be cured, and I hope that there will be other women who will be so lucky," she says today.

The Mammogram Muddle

The American Cancer Society (ACS) recommends that screening mammograms begin at age 40, earlier if a woman has a symptom of breast cancer or a strong family history. But not all experts agree, starting testing from age 35 to as late as 50.
How to decide? "Find a doctor you trust, who has a good reputation in the medical community," advises Jackson, "then let that person help you make your decision." Your physician will take into account your family history, whether you began to menstruate before age 12, whether you entered menopause after age 50, and if you had your first child after age 30 or had no children at all.
Whatever your risk, most experts agree that women should perform monthly breast self-exams (BSEs) beginning at age 20 and have their breasts examined by a health professional every three years between ages 20 and 39. Starting at age 40, tests should be done annually.
The discovery of a lump in the breast is frightening--but fear is not an excuse to avoid self-exams and mammograms. "I know it's scary," Jackson says, "but things don't go away because you ignore them. The earlier you can find what you need to fight, the better the chance to fight it."
What's Ahead?
Researchers are studying new drugs that stimulate the body's natural immune defenses to fight breast cancer, as well as surgical techniques, including high-frequency radio waves that destroy breast tumors without surgery. They even hope that many women may one day be able to sidestep the disease altogether with genetic therapies that repair certain changes in breast-cell genes so that they don't develop into cancer.
As technology becomes more sophisticated, diagnostic methods should improve, too, perhaps ending the controversy about whether routine mammograms save lives. In the meantime, Jackson advises women to follow the advice of their doctors and to listen to their bodies. "I believe your body talks to you," she says. "You know how you feel. If your body seems to be behaving in a way that you're not used to, listen to it. It's always better to listen to your body and find out nothing is wrong than to not listen and wish you had."
For more information, contact the American Cancer Society, 1-800-ACS-2345, www.cancer.org; or the National Cancer Institute, 1-800-4-CANCER, cis.nci.nih.gov.