Breast Cancer Awareness and Mammography Importance | DC Metro Area Medical Malpractice Law Blog

Posted by: Salvatore J. Zambri, founding member and senior trial attorney.

As you’ve probably noticed during the month of October, the pink ribbon representing breast cancer awareness has been on prominent display in a number of advertisements, sporting events, websites, and other public places. In addition, October 21 was designated as National Mammography Day, when many locations provided free or drastically reduced mammograms for patients.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), regular screening mammograms are recognized as the best way to find breast cancer early. “In 2007 (the latest year for which statistics are available), 202,964 women were diagnosed with breast cancer, and 40,598 women died from the disease.” Because early breast cancer does not cause signs and symptoms, many experts have determined that a mammogram is the most effective way to detect breast cancer early, sometimes up to three years before a lump can be felt through a self-exam. After breast cancer grows, the following symptoms become more evident:

• “New lump in the breast or underarm (armpit).
• Thickening or swelling of part of the breast.
• Irritation or dimpling of breast skin.
• Redness or flaky skin in the nipple area or the breast.
• Pulling in of the nipple or pain in the nipple area.
• Nipple discharge other than breast milk, including blood.
• Any change in the size or the shape of the breast.
• Pain in any area of the breast.”

The National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program is part of the CDC and works with health departments and other groups to provide low-cost or free mammograms to women who qualify. The CDC website also features a section explaining mammograms in terms that assist women in understanding the value of mammograms.

I encourage all women, as well as men, to speak with their physician about the most effective ways to prevent ill consequences of breast cancer.

About the author:

Mr. Zambri is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Attorney and Past-President of the Trial Lawyers Association of Metropolitan Washington, D.C. The association has recently named him the ” 2011 Trial Lawyer of the Year“. He has also been acknowledged by Washingtonian magazine as a “Big Gun” and among the “top 1%” of all of the more than 80,000 lawyers in the Washington metropolitan area. The magazine also acknowledged him as “one of Washington’s best–most honest and effective lawyers” who specializes in medical malpractice matters, product liability claims, and serious automobile accident claims. Mr. Zambri was recently (2011 edition) acknowledged as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” by Best Lawyers, and has also been repeatedly named a “Super Lawyer” by Law and Politics magazine (2011)–a national publication that honors the top lawyers in the country.

Mr. Zambri is regularly asked to present seminars to lawyers and doctors, as well as both medical and law students concerning defective drugs, medication errors, medical malpractice litigation, and safety improvements.

If you have any questions about your legal rights, please email Mr. Zambri at [email protected]. You may also reach him at 202-822-1899.