WomanToWomanMagazine.com During your annual physical, your healthcare provider may use automated software tools to calculate your risk of developing certain diseases. This approach is often used when evaluating breast cancer risk. A woman is considered “high risk” if her lifetime risk for developing breast cancer is greater than 20%. Once accurately identified as high risk, she will most likely require more frequent and targeted screening. There are a number of risk calculators available to you and your doctor to determine your risk for breast cancer. Two of the most widely used and studied are the Gail model and the Tyrer- Cuzick model. The Gail model, named after its founder Dr. Mitchell Gail, is the most popular and calculates a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer within the next five years. It uses key risk factors, including your current age, your age when you had your first period, your age at the time you had your first child (or if you have not given birth), family history (mother, sister, daughter), number of past breast biopsies and your race/ethnicity. It is widely known that the Gail model has a number of limitations. It tends to underestimate risk across the board, but especially among ethnic populations, including Asian, Hispanic and African-American women. It tends to ignore breast cancer history on the patient’s father’s side of the family which can also be significant. It does not consider the age at which breast cancer is first diagnosed in relatives, which can have a significant impact on risk. Finally, it is a tool designed to calculate overall population risk, not your individual risk. The Tyrer-Cuzick model, originally developed in the United Kingdom, is the most comprehensive risk assessment tool currently available. Like the Gail model, it takes into account your age and family history, but it also takes into account your extended family history of breast and ovarian cancer, as well as body mass index (BMI), exposure to post menopausal hormones, likelihood of BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations and other personal risk factors. It calculates your individual lifetime risk, as compared to a standard five-year risk. Pictured: Joy Schofield: Sonographer, has been with RIS for 12 years; Judy Rosell: Lead MRI Technologist, has been with RIS for 16 years; Darlene Bedsole: Office Supervisor, has been with RIS for 30 years 20 Joy Judy Darlene
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