In recognition of Women’s Health Month, breast cancer survivor and registered nurse at Student Health Services, Betty DeSilvio spoke at this week’s Brown Bag Luncheon.

At “Cross My Heart: Issues in Breast Health,” a presentation sponsored by the Women’s Center, DeSilvio helped to educate those in attendance by sharing her personal experiences as well as medical information.

Since one in eight women get breast cancer, DeSilvio made yearly mammograms and monthly breast self-exams a part of her life.

“Doing a self exam is the number one way to detect breast cancer,” DeSilvio said.

When doing a self-exam, make sure to cover the entire breast area from the armpit to the breastbone, and from the collarbone to the bottom of the ribcage, DeSilvio said.

Last year, while doing a self-exam, DeSilvio found a lump in her breast. It turned out that it was a tumor, roughly the size of a walnut. After a biopsy, DeSilvio found out that she had Invasive Ductal Carcinoma.

According to breastcancer.org, IDC accounts for 80 percent of all breast cancers. It is a type of cancer that originates in the milk ducts of the breast and spreads to surrounding tissue.

Once DeSilvio found out she had cancer, she was faced with two options to remove the tumor- a mastectomy or a lumpectomy.

A mastectomy is an operation that removes the entire breast, and a lumpectomy is an operation that removes only the tumor from the breast.

Because of the size of the tumor, DeSilvio opted to go with a mastectomy. She suggested taking a couple weeks to decide which procedure to choose.

“If you have a surgeon who is pushing you to decide quickly, find a different surgeon,” DeSilvio said.

After having one of the surgeries, reconstructive breast work is an option. Linda Hamilton, director of budgeting at the University, is a breast cancer survivor who opted to go with the reconstructive surgery.

After having a mastectomy and doing chemotherapy, Hamilton had trans-rectus abdominis muscle (TRAM) reconstruction. For this type of reconstruction, skin, muscle and fat is taken from the lower abdomen and used to form a new breast.

After their surgeries both DeSilvio and Hamilton went through chemotherapy treatment to kill any existing cancer cells. “Chemo isn’t anything fun,” Hamilton said. “It’s not something you want to go through, but there is an end and it isn’t as bad as you might think.”

DeSilvio urges women to get yearly mammograms and suggests getting it at the same place every year so the results can be compared with previous years’.

“If you find something in your breast that shouldn’t be there or wasn’t there before, be proactive. Get an exam,” DeSilvio said.

Maria DeRose, women’s studies instructor, said she thinks it is important for students at the University to learn about breast cancer, breast cancer treatment, support groups and other options. “This touches so many people,” DeRose said. “Even if you are not the one with cancer, you probably know some one who is. It is important to be informed and to tell information to those who aren’t.”

For more information about breast cancer, visit www.komen.org.