Earlier this week, lieutenant governor and the lieutenant governor announced she had undergone a successful double mastectomy.

Coleman said medical concerns raised during a routine physical exam and a significant family history of cancer led to her decision to undergo the procedure.

Cancer experts like Dr. Brian Dong of the University of Louisville's Health Brown Cancer Center, says surgeries like Komen's are typically reserved for those who are at a higher risk for breast cancer.

And like Coleman, he stressed the importance of annual preventative exams.

Yeah, so a mastectomy is a surgery where they remove, you know, the predominant out of breast tissue on a woman.

And, you know, whether to get a bilateral mastectomy or not is really up to a lot of times the patient's choice situations where we would recommend it from a medical standpoint oftentimes revolve around genetic testing and certain more rare cases.

If you were to have bilateral breast cancer.

So, you know, when you do it as a woman, being proactive and trying to reduce your risk of breast cancer, that requires a, you know, in-depth conversation with the breast cancer specialists like myself on when it's appropriate.

It's so important for women to have their annual mammograms.

This is the best way to get early detection of breast cancer.

You know, as we start to screen more and more people, the breast cancer rates are going up.

You know, this year, in 2023, we're estimating over 300,000 cases across the United States.

And, you know, we're hoping that more and more of those can be earlier stage early detection.

Going for a cure.

So, you know, it's one of those things where it's not a long study.

I know it's, you know, a bit of a nuisance to the patient, but it can something that can save your life.

So certainly, you know, be mindful, advocate for yourself, talk to your providers and make sure you stay up to date.

One in six breast cancer cases occur in women ages 40 to 49, the same age range as the lieutenant governor.

Doctors say women with an average risk of breast cancer should have a yearly mammogram starting at age 40.