ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - As Breast Cancer Awareness month wraps up, the fight for a cure continues -- and this year, experts are closely watching a rare subtype of the disease.
Dr. Tari King, chief surgical officer at Emory University's Winship Cancer Institute, said her job is to help women fighting breast cancer.
"[My] number one role is to improve the quality of life for women diagnosed with, living with, breast cancer to make sure that we're moving the field forward," she said.
As October comes to a close, she said there are some trends to celebrate.
"Treatments are getting better, fewer women are dying, but the disease isn't going away," King said. "So, we really do need to get in front of it."
The American Cancer Society estimates just under 317,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year.
Lobular Breast Cancer, a unique subtype, is rising rapidly. Rates of this disease are increasing three times faster than all other breast cancers combined.
"Lobular breast cancer is the second most common type of breast cancer, so another subtype. It is just detected like any other breast cancer is detected, but the challenge is its growth pattern is quite unique," King told Atlanta News First. "They can be harder to detect on mammogram because they don't create the same distortion in the breast, so they're less likely to create a mass."
According to King, the cancer seems to be associated with exposure to hormones.
"We ask women about their GYN history. We ask when you started your period, stopped your period, pregnancy, births. All of those things help us collectively understand there are estrogen experiences over our lifetime," she said.
King urges all women to pay attention to their bodies and get their regular screenings.
"It's not your responsibility to find something, but just knowing when something is different and just being comfortable with your breasts. Being aware of changes in your own breasts [is] really the key to early detection," she said.
The American Cancer Society recommends women at average risk of breast cancer, meaning no personal history or family history, should start getting annual mammograms at the age of 40.