Breast Cancer & Eye Exams

By Dr. Gary Goberville

There are many facts not commonly known about Breast cancer and the Eye and why it is imperative for you to have your Eye health examined. Breast cancer can be metastatic to the eye and can commonly occur in up to 30% of women with metastatic disease. The prevalence of this lesion is not appreciated because of the dominant clinical picture of metastases occurring in other organs. Metastatic tumors should be suspected in any women with a history of breast cancer and any visual symptoms, particularly with wavy vision and loss of peripheral vision.. A thorough dilated eye evaluation is necessary to rule these out and grows aided by computed tomography, or magnetic resonance scanning, which usually confirms the diagnosis and can detect such growths in and around your eye.

Early treatment of the cancer in the eye with radiation therapy can alleviate symptoms and control local disease. The recognition and treatment of this disorder is important in maximizing the quality of life in patients with metastatic breast cancer, especially because newer treatment regimens prolong survival and thereby increase the chances for ocular metastasis.

• Breast cancer incidence rates in the U.S. began decreasing in the year 2000, after increasing for the previous two decades. They dropped by 7% from 2002 to 2003 alone. One theory is that this decrease was partially due to the reduced use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) by women after the results of a large study called the Women’s Health Initiative were published in 2002. These results suggested a connection between HRT and increased breast cancer risk.

• Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. In 2015, it’s estimated that just under 30% of newly diagnosed cancers in women will be breast cancers.

The bottom line is to make sure to have your annual eye health exam and if you have had cancer treatment, follow up with an eye health exam to ensure your vision and health.

Come by, stay healthy and have your annual eye exam.

Dr. Gary Goberville, Optometric Physician

Eye Site Vision Center, 2344 N. University Dr. Coral?Springs
954-344-3937. www.EyeSiteVision.com

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