Breast cancer risk assessment tool helps doctors and patients [Video]

BUFFALO, N.Y. — When Olivia Munn revealed this week that she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy, she urged people to ask their doctors to figure out their score on a breast cancer risk calculator.

Munn said her score prompted further tests and the discovery of an aggressive form of the disease.

“I’m lucky. We caught it with enough time that I had options,” the 43-year-old actor posted on Instagram. “I want the same for any woman who might have to face this one day.”

What is the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool?

It’s a questionnaire on the National Cancer Institute’s website that is designed for health care providers to use with patients. The tool received a “dramatic increase in visits” since Munn’s post, according to an NCI spokesperson.

First developed in 1989, it was …