Women's Health Wednesday: Breast Cancer Risk Assessment

In March, actress Olivia Munn revealed she was diagnosed with Luminal B breast cancer. Her story is inspiring women to talk to their own doctors about their breast cancer risk assessment scores.

ALBANY, N.Y. (WTEN) - In March, actress Olivia Munn revealed she was diagnosed with Luminal B breast cancer. Her story is inspiring women to talk to their own doctors about their breast cancer risk assessment scores.

Despite negative signs of cancer from other testing, Munn says her OBGYN calculated her breast cancer risk assessment score. It lead to a diagnosis that left Munn with options and she says, ultimately saved her life.

Brooke Lamparello, M.D., joins Christina Arangio for this week's Women's Health Wednesday to talk more about this tool and how it can help other women.

Dr. Lamparello says there are different types of risk assessment tools that look at things like personal and family history, when women started menstruating, had their first baby, and prior abnormal screenings among other things. These tools along with results from traditional screenings like mammograms, help doctors determine if a patient should receive more aggressive testing. However, there can be challenges with insurances.

The risk assessment score can also help doctors determine if a patient should be getting screened for breast cancer before the age of 40 or 45, when women typically start getting screened.

Dr. Lamparello says it's not a bad idea for women to start asking their doctor for their own risk assessment score, especially if there is a family history of breast cancer or other cancers and if they have had children at a later age.