Your Health
Ask the Cancer Information Service

Screening mammograms

Q: What is the latest on how often to have screening mammograms?

A: The National Cancer Institute recommends that women in their 40s and older have a screening mammogram (a breast x-ray in women with no signs of breast cancer) every one to two years.
Women with higher-than-average risk of breast cancer should talk with their health care providers about when to begin mammograms and how often to have them. Factors that may increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer include:
• Age: A woman is more likely to develop breast cancer as she gets older.
• Personal history of breast cancer: A woman who has had breast cancer is at higher risk for developing the disease again.
• Family history of breast cancer: The risk rises for women with a mother, sister or daughter who has had the disease.
• History of certain non-cancerous breast conditions: These conditions include atypical hyperplasia (breast cells that have abnormal features and are increased in number) and lobular carcinoma in situ (abnormal cells in the lobules of the breast).
• Genes: Alterations (changes from the norm) in certain genes increase risk.
• Exposure to hormones: Breast cancer risk is higher for women who began having periods at age 11 or younger, gave birth to a first child at a late age, and/or went through menopause at age 55 or older. Breast cancer risk also is higher for women who use a combination estrogen-progestin menopausal hormone therapy for more than five years.
• Breast density: Breast cancer nearly always develops in the dense tissue of the breast rather than the fatty tissue. For this reason, older women with mostly dense breasts are at higher risk.

For more information, call the Cancer Information Service at 1 (800) 4-CANCER.


Cost of mammograms

Q: How much does a mammogram cost?

A: A screening mammogram is an x-ray of the breast that is used to find cancer in women who have no signs of the disease. It generally costs between $100 and $150. Financial help is available in several ways:
• Most states now have laws requiring health insurance companies to pay all or part of the cost of a screening mammogram. Talk to your insurance company and health care providers for details.
• Medicare is the federal government’s health insurance program for people 65 and older and people with disabilities. Medicare pays 80 percent of the cost of a screening mammogram each year for beneficiaries age 40 and older, and one baseline mammogram for beneficiaries age 35 to 39. Call Medicare’s toll-free hotline at 1 (800) 633-4227. The TTY/TDD number for deaf and hard of hearing callers is 1 (877) 486-2048.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pays all or some of the cost of breast cancer screening services through its National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program. This program provides mammograms and breast exams by a health professional to low-income, underinsured and underserved women in all 50 states, 6 U.S. territories, the District of Columbia, and 14 American Indian/Alaska Native organizations. For more information, contact your state health department or call the Cancer Information Service at 1 (800) 4-CANCER.


Reasons for smoking

Q: Why do I feel like I "need" to smoke?

A: Smokers use tobacco to fill many different "needs." Studies show that most people smoke for one or more of these reasons:
• Smoking gives me more energy
• I like to touch and handle cigarettes
• Smoking is a pleasure
• Smoking helps me relax when I’m tense or upset
• I crave cigarettes; smoking is an addiction
• Smoking is a habit

Understanding the reasons why you smoke, and how you can meet those needs in other ways, is a key step in quitting. For tips on how to satisfy each of the above needs without tobacco, call the Cancer Information Service at 1 (800) 4-CANCER and ask for a free copy of "Why Do You Smoke?"

The Cancer Information Service also can help you quit tobacco with one-on-one assistance from specially trained information specialists. In addition to helping you understand why you smoke, CIS specialists can help you learn how quitting will improve your health, discover different ways to quit, develop an action plan, know what to expect when you quit and deal with temporary setbacks.
Call 1 (800) 4-CANCER and select option 3 for this free assistance.


Cancer-related fatigue

Q: I have been feeling exhausted since my cancer treatment began. Is this normal?

A: Normal fatigue is tiredness that lasts for a short time and goes away with rest. Chronic fatigue is a long-lasting condition that can appear suddenly and last for days, weeks or months. It may not go away with rest. Cancer patients with fatigue may say they feel tired, weak, exhausted or worn-out. Chronic fatigue is common among cancer patients.

The exact causes of chronic fatigue in cancer patients are not known. Possible triggers include emotional stress, cancer treatments, anemia, certain medications, weight loss and loss of appetite, changes in metabolism, decreased levels of hormones, difficulty sleeping, inactivity, loss of strength and pain.

It is important to tell your health professionals about your fatigue (when it started, how long it has lasted, and what makes it better and worse) and ask about treatments. The National Cancer Institute offers the following tips on coping with fatigue:
• Plan your day so that you have time to rest
• Take short naps or breaks rather than one long rest period
• Save your energy for the most important things
• Take short walks or do light exercise, if possible
• Eat as well as you can. Drink plenty of fluids, but limit caffeine and alcohol
• Join a support group to learn how others deal with cancer-related fatigue

Chronic fatigue in cancer patients does go away gradually as the tumor responds to treatment. For more information on cancer-related fatigue, call the Cancer Information Service at 1 (800) 4-CANCER.


Ask the CIS is distributed by the Cancer Information Service of Hawai‘i (CIS), which serves the state at the Cancer Research Center of Hawai‘i. The CIS is a program of the National Cancer Institute. Call the CIS toll-free at 1 (800) 4-CANCER between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. local time.