For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Horton was interviewed about thermogram screenings and how they are less useful in detecting breast cancer than digital mammograms on KRON4 News San Francisco.

Watch the video below.

Additionally, in the Q&A below, she shares proactive steps women can take to lower their risk for breast cancer. Dr. Horton also discusses breast cancer education, her advocacy for women facing this disease, and more.

Q: Why is breast cancer awareness education and advocacy so important to you?

Dr. Horton: Breast reconstruction can help women facing breast cancer to feel more empowered and experience less loss than when reconstruction is not offered, particularly at the time of the initial breast cancer diagnosis. Preserving or reconstructing the breast form can preserve – or restore – a sense of femininity, wholeness and wellness.

Q: What advice do you have for other women going through breast cancer or survivors?

Dr. Horton: When faced with breast cancer and learning about treatments, do your homework! Realize that not every office or Physician has the most up-to-date information, particularly in rural settings. There are so many resources available online. Although getting your treatment locally is usually preferred, on occasion traveling for the very best treatment for your particular breast cancer type can be beneficial in the long run.

Q: How many breast cancer patients have you helped over the years?

Dr. Horton: I have treated thousands of patients over the last 18 years. My father was a breast cancer surgeon and my sister is a genetic counselor specializing in familial breast cancer, so caring for women facing breast cancer runs in my family!

It is immensely rewarding to be able to serve as a light at the end of the tunnel for women facing breast cancer, and to offer a warm, positive and encouraging environment alongside the cancer removal, chemotherapy and radiation therapy for women undergoing breast cancer treatments.

At my Plastic Surgery practice in San Francisco, we talk about body image, self-esteem, getting back to fun lifestyle activities, and really explore what a woman’s goals are for her body. Often, breast cancer affords the opportunity to have the breast reduction, lift or increased fullness that a woman may have considered previously but never went ahead with. For many women who are also mothers, breast reconstruction can be viewed as their “Mommy Makeover”!

I have a Master of Science in Molecular Biology, focusing on cancer. I was asked by a patient this past year “what are you afraid of?”, and after reflection, realized it was CANCER. Any cell in the body, if it loses its cellular regulation, can divide repeatedly to form a tumor and can then mutate and travel elsewhere in the body and spread/invade other organs – this is called metastasis. Breast cancer cells are known to first form a tumor (lump), and then tend to travel through the lymphatic system to the brain, bones, liver and lungs.

Although my research done in the 1990’s was not ground-breaking, new advances in detection and screening will hopefully catch breast cancer well before it becomes Stage IV (metastatic).

Q: What are some proactive steps women can take to lower their risk for breast cancer?

Dr. Horton: Stay healthy! Eat the rainbow, avoid highly processed foods, limit alcohol, no nicotine in any form, maintain a healthy weight, exercise daily, get enough restful sleep, practice mindfulness and gratitude, ask for help when you need it, offer help to others, and follow the Golden Rule! Get your annual mammograms beginning at age 40 (earlier if there’s a family history of breast cancer), do monthly breast self-exams in the shower, listen to your body and see your Doctor if you notice any change in your breast.

Q: Are there any actions that you personally take every year to decrease your risk of breast cancer?

Dr. Horton: Other than drinking wine, my lifestyle is extremely healthy. I believe in “everything in moderation”!

Q: Anything you’d like to add?

Dr. Horton: Breast cancer, if caught early, can be very treatable. If ignored because of fear or denial, or lack of education about warning signs (changes in the breast, new lumps etc) or available screening options (breast self-exams, mammograms, ultrasound, MRI) and if it is diagnosed later, it can metastasize and lead to death.