Guest guest Posted January 12, 2008 Report Share Posted January 12, 2008 Even though the rate breast cancer is MUCH lower in women with Ds than in the general population, there have been some women with Ds who have been diagnosed with it. I spoke to the mother of a 51 yr old woman w/Ds recently. Her daughter had discharge from her nipple almost a year ago..when she was examined by her family doctor at that time, the doctor asked the mother if the daughter would be able to tolerate a mammogram, and the mom said, " No " . So the doctor dropped the issue.(you have to wonder if it was an issue of, 'well, what does it matter,,,she has Ds anyway. " 9 months later, a family member mentioned that the doctor could have done an ultrasound, instead of the mammogram, so the mother asked the doctor to order one. By that time, the tumor had grown, and the woman had to have a mastectomy. She currently needs chemotherapy, which she needs to go to another city to receive, since doctors in her home town are uncertain how to treat someone with Ds who has cancer. I found this article that does not recommend mammograms every year for women with Ds (since the risk of cancer is so low and there are some risks for having repeated mammograms) but the authors DO recommend other methods of screening for breast cancer. Breast screening guidelines should be adapted in Down's syndrome http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/324/7346/1155 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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