On this week’s 51%, we recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We tune into a virtual conference on women’s health at the University of Vermont Cancer Center, and speak with Albany Medical Center’s Dr. Lynn Choi about what you can do to reduce your risk for the disease.

Guests: Dr. Lynn Choi, breast surgeon with Albany Medical Center

51% is a national production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio. Our producer is Jesse King, our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock, and our theme is "Lolita" by the Albany-based artist Girl Blue.

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You’re listening to 51%, a WAMC production dedicated to women’s issues and experiences. Thanks for tuning in, I’m Jesse King.

We’re bringing you another trio of healthcare stories today. October is breast cancer awareness month — and while, of course, the point is to better inform the public about breast cancer, many of us are already well aware of it. According to the National Cancer Center, it’s the most common type of cancer in the U.S., with 284,000 new cases expected nationwide in 2021 — so odds are, you or someone you know has been affected by this disease. 

Luckily, compared to other cancers, it has a pretty good survival rate (the American Cancer Society put the relative five-year survival rate at 90%) - but that depends on how early it’s caught. The problem is, for the past year and half, the coronavirus pandemic has forced many people to postpone or cancel their regular check-ups and screenings, including mammograms. 

Now, doctors and health officials are urging the public to resume their recommended care schedules — and they’re discussing ways to improve detection and treatment on their end as well. The University of Vermont Cancer Center recently held its 24th annual Women’s Health and Cancer Conference. The meeting, held virtually due to the pandemic, brought together experts on cancer detection and prevention, wellness and survivorship. WAMC's Pat Bradley has more on the conference here.

So the way doctors look at and approach cancers is constantly in discussion — but in the spirit of awareness, let’s get into detail about what breast cancer looks like, how it’s treated, and how you can reduce your risk of the disease. Dr. Lynn Choi is a board-certified breast surgeon at Albany Medical Center with years of experience in cancer-related surgery and surveillance of high-risk breast cancer patients. To be clear, she says just about all women — and some men, let’s not forget — have at least some risk of developing breast cancer, particularly as they get older. But some factors can put certain people at more risk than others, and when you should start to more closely monitor your body depends on your personal risk level.

What made you want to become a breast surgeon?  

So I did a general surgery residency, and as I was realizing I was becoming a mother, I became very interested in women's health. I did go to a women's college, I was surrounded by a strong support system of women. And the fact that breast cancer affects one in eight women – you're in a room full of people, there's going to always be a handful of women who have breast cancer. And the main reason I want to go into this is, with surgery, there's two types of surgeries: there's surgeries where you operate, the patient gets better, and then they go on their own path – but with a woman who has breast cancer, you're their doctor for life. Patients really become your family.

During the pandemic, a lot of people were letting their routine appointments slide. Now that the vaccine is out, are you seeing more women come in for mammograms, and for tracking for stuff like this? Or are people still hesitant?

People are getting much better. There's always still a hesitancy, but it's much better now that the vaccine’s out. When the vaccine was not out, at the height of the pandemic, mammograms were down by 40 percent. That's a significant numbe