NBC's Andrea Mitchell Diagnosed with Breast Cancer - Says Prognosis is "Excellent”

NBC's Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent and MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell says she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The 65-year-old told reporters that the cancer was found at an early stage and she believes her prognosis is excellent.

Mitchell is the wife of ex Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. The two were married in 1977 and this is Mitchell’s second husband.

In a statement she told reporters,

"I had planned to be hiking in Wyoming last week, but instead discovered that I am now among the one in eight women in this country who have breast cancer. For you women out there and the men who love you, breast screening matters. Do it. This disease can be completely curable if you find it, at the right time."

True.

And while men can develop breast cancer it is almost always found in women. And women over 50 years old are more at risk.

Dr. Sandhya Pruthi at the Mayo Clinic says that screening mammograms should be done every two years beginning at age 50 for women at average risk of breast cancer.

But he says before age 50 screenings should not be done routinely and should be based on a woman's values regarding the risks and benefits of mammography.

This view differs from the American Cancer Society who recommends screenings starting at age 40 for women at average risk.

In other words, if you think you are at risk or feel a change in you breast GET A MAMMOGRAM – no matter how old you are.

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