COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL)— To raise awareness of the value of early detection, St. Francis-Emory Healthcare held a breast cancer awareness event Friday morning.

According to St. Francis surgeon for the breast center Dr. James Majors, approximately one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. For women with a first-degree relative, a mother, a grandmother, or a sister with a breast cancer, their lifetime risk increases to one in four.

St. Francis physicians stress that the key to breast cancer survival is early detection by getting an annual mammogram screening after the age of 40 and 30 for women with first-degree relatives.

“The earlier you find breast cancer at the smallest possible size; it allows for less invasive surgeries to be performed. So that women can be treated in a manner that still preserves their breast in many cases, and also eliminates the need for more advanced treatments such as radiation or chemotherapy,” stated breast radiology physician John Cutrone.

Dr. Cutrone continued on to say early detection allows flexibility for the most conservative and less invasive treatment possible for the patient. Screenings can be done by mammograms, ultrasounds, and biopsies. According to St. Francis’s physicians, newly diagnosed breast cancer patients can be seen by a surgeon within 24 to 48 hours after diagnoses.