Orlando Health and the City of St. Cloud hosted October’s Lunch & Learn at the Marina Banquet Hall on Wednesday, where residents learned about the detection and treatment options for breast cancer.

Featured speaker Dr. Sara Ardila, a breast surgical oncologist with the Breast Care Center at Orlando Health Cancer Institute, shared current breast cancer statistics and emphasized the importance of regular screenings.

For more information about the prevention and treatment of breast cancer, visit Orlando Health’s Breast Care Center page at https://www.orlandohealth.com/services-and-specialties/orlando-health-cancer-institute/specialty-centers/breast-cancer.

“If it’s diagnosed at an early stage, the five-year survival rate is about 99%,” Ardila said. “The earlier we can diagnose it, the better we can treat it, the better the outcome.”

The current general recommendations are to perform monthly self-exams, yearly clinical exams, and yearly mammograms starting at age 40.  While people are encouraged to be aware of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer – feeling a lump in the breast or the armpit, having pain that doesn’t go away, having changes to the skin, noticing that one breast is larger than the other, noticing nipple changes or discharge – most of the time, there are no symptoms, Ardila said. “That’s why it’s important to do your screening mammograms every year. We can detect as little as 5-millimeter calcifications on the mammogram. So as small as a pencil eraser, we can detect on imaging, and that would be very hard to feel in an exam.”

And starting next year, St. Cloud Hospital will begin offering 3D mammograms to provide even better breast imaging. Currently, the hospital offers 2D mammograms, which take two pictures of the breast — one from the top and one from the side. The new 3D technology captures multiple images to reconstruct the breast in three dimensions, allowing doctors to detect more cancers with greater accuracy.

However, some demographics struggle to obtain annual mammograms. For example, Ardila noted that 30% of uninsured women are up to date on breast cancer screenings, compared to 64% of insured women. Programs such as Florida’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program provide free screenings for eligible uninsured residents.

For more information about Florida’s Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, visit https://www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/cancer/breast-cancer/bccedp.html.

“We emphasize breast cancer in October, but it should be an all-year awareness … and for the other types of cancer, as well,” Ardila said. “The recommended cancer screenings, whether that’s a skin cancer screening, or a colon cancer screening, PSAs for men for prostate cancer … just stay on top of your health.”

Originally from Columbia, Ardila moved to the Orlando area when she was 15. She said she has always been passionate about women’s health, and during her general surgery training with Orlando Health, she found that she enjoyed taking care of oncology patients and their families. “I find it very fulfilling to take care of this patient population, helping them through this challenging time, and I’m excited to do that as my career,” she said.