Normalise getting screened for breast cancer

 

Compliments of the season and best wishes for the year 2024!

As we reflect on the achievements we made in 2023, it is important to note that the country’s health sector still faces a myriad of challenges.

Among these challenges are the gaps that exist in the response to non-communicable diseases, particularly cancer, that continue to affect thousands of Zimbabweans.

According to the 2018 national cancer registry annual report, 7 841 cancer cases were reported among Zimbabweans and 57,9 percent of these were among women.

The most frequently occurring cancer is cervical cancer which accounted for 21 percent of all cancers while prostate cancer had the second highest at 11 percent followed by breast cancer at 8 percent of all cancers.

While we have many days set aside to raise awareness on all forms of cancer throughout the year, it seems there is still very little awareness of cancer and its causes among our communities.

Of course, awareness remains one of the best ways of combating the public health challenge posed by such diseases.

So all this means, awareness raising needs to be increased.

Over the next month, we will focus on the different forms of cancer that affect people as we talk about how we can prevent these cancers.

This week we focus on breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a public health concern that affects millions of women and men across the world.

Yes, men can get breast cancer. Even if they make up less than 1 percent of the breast cancer cases.

Even though men don’t have breasts like women’s, they have a small amount of breast tissue. 

It is because of that breast tissue that men can get the same types of breast cancers that women do. The risk of a man getting breast cancer in his lifetime is about 1 per 1 000.

Of course the risk for women is considerably higher.

In 2020, there were 2,3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer and 685 000 deaths globally. In the five years to the end of 2020, there were 7,8 million women alive who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, making it the world’s most prevalent cancer.

Unfortunately, most cases of breast cancer are diagnosed at an advanced stage as patients tend to delay seeking medical care.

And this is usually a result of lack of knowledge. 

Many women have no access to the informational adverts or the awareness campaigns that are there.

Breast cancer mostly affects women above the age of 40 but men and younger women are not spared.

Early diagnosis remains the best chance any person can have of surviving breast cancer.

Experts say statistics show that most women in Zimbabwe are diagnosed at stage three and stage four when the cancer has already spread. 

But if women are screened regularly, it can be detected at stage zero or at stage one where it can be treated easily, thus avoiding the catastrophic costs that come with chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Some might ask, who is at risk?

Being a woman is a risk factor in itself and the older one gets, the higher the risk. Women with a family history of breast, ovarian, melanoma, or pancreatic cancer may be at increased risk, especially women with a family member diagnosed before the age of 50 years.

While it is not always that a woman with a family history of breast cancer will get it, it is important that they make an effort to know that family history and get screened regularly.

Women can also make some changes to their lifestyles to reduce their risk of developing breast cancer. 

Drinking alcohol is linked to an increased risk of breast cancer, so reducing alcohol intake can help reduce the risk.

Being overweight after menopause also increases breast cancer risk, hence health experts advise women to strive to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.

Breast cancer most commonly presents as a painless lump or thickening in the breast. 

It is important that when women find an abnormal lump in the breast, they consult a doctor as soon as possible.

Generally, symptoms of breast cancer include a lump or thickening of the breast, alteration in size, shape or appearance of a breast, dimpling, redness, change in nipple appearance or alteration in the skin surrounding the nipple or abnormal nipple discharge.

Breast cancer can present in a wide variety of ways, which is why a complete medical examination is important. 

Advanced cancers can erode through the skin to cause open sores.

Breast cancer may spread to other areas of the body and trigger other symptoms. Often, the most common first detectable site of spread is to the lymph nodes under the arm although it is possible to have cancer-bearing lymph nodes that cannot be felt.

Over time, cancerous cells may spread to other organs including the lungs, liver, brain and bones. 

Once they reach these sites, new cancer-related symptoms such as bone pain or headaches may appear.

Treatment

Breast cancer treatment generally consists of surgery and radiation therapy for control of the disease in the breast, lymph nodes and surrounding areas.

In the past, all breast cancers were treated surgically by mastectomy (complete removal of the breast) but now a smaller procedure called a “lumpectomy” or partial mastectomy, in which only the tumour is removed from the breast. 

In these cases, radiation therapy to the breast is generally required to minimize the chances of recurrence in the breast.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI) has an objective to reduce cancer mortality by 2,5 percent per year, thereby averting 2,5 million breast cancer deaths globally between 2020 and 2040. 

The WHO says by providing public health education to improve awareness among women of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer and, together with their families, understand the importance of early detection and treatment, more women would consult medical practitioners when breast cancer is first suspected, and before any cancer present is advanced. 

“Public education needs to be combined with health worker education about the signs and symptoms of early breast cancer so that women are referred to diagnostic services when appropriate,” the global health body says.

It therefore, becomes important for all women to be aware of how their breasts normally look and feel. Any change, no matter how trivial- it seems- deserves further evaluation by a healthcare professional. 

After the age of 40, women should strive to get a mammogram every year. 

All women can take some control of their health by embracing a healthier lifestyle, it can make a difference. 

We should always thrive to know our bodies so that the minute anything out of the ordinary happens, we can seek help. 

When it comes to our health, we should never hesitate to seek advice from experts.

It only takes a few minutes to avoid years of pain and suffering from breast cancer.

This 2024, let us all normalise getting screened for breast cancer!

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