Monthly breast self-exam for cancer can save your life

When it comes to beating breast cancer, catching it early makes a big difference — yet many people skip a simple step that could save their life: the breast selfexam. Don’t worry about going to hospital because of COVID-19, doctors are available on telephone to answer your queries and diagnose the problem.

Breast cancer is one of the cancers with the best cure rates. Detecting breast cancer early increases the chance of cure. When detected in the early stages, low risk breast cancer patients have the possibility of avoiding aggressive treatments like chemotherapy.

Many women say they don’t need to do a self exam because they don’t have a family history of breast cancer. Only 5-10 per cent of those diagnosed with breast cancer have an inherited risk. This means the vast majority of breast cancer cases are seemingly out of the blue.

Also, approximately 11 per cent of breast cancer cases occur in women under age forty-five. Since mammograms are generally not recommended for women until they reach age forty, this leaves many years where a younger woman’s cancer can go undetected. Men account for about 1 per cent of breast cancer cases globally.

According to Oman’s National Cancer Registry, women accounted for 53.1 per cent cases. As per global standard, the number of cases among women in the Sultanate reached 1,142 cases per 100,000 of the population, compared to 1,133 cases per 100,000 for males. The National Cancer Registry report also indicated that breast cancer was the most common type of cancer among Omani women, while most men had colorectal cancer, followed by prostate cancer and nonhodgkin’s lymphoma.

In light of this, the Ministry of Health (MOH) has urged women to do selfexam every month and see a doctor if any abnormality is noticed. “October is the month for breast cancer awareness and let’s pledge to go for our regular breast checkup as per the international recommendation. Women should take a promise to do a monthly self breast examination at home,” a representative at the Ministry of Health said.

Only less than 15 per cent of cancer incidence is due to genes but almost 85 per cent of the cancers especially breast cancers can be prevented, by living a healthy lifestyle – take regular exercise, eat vegetables and fruits and avoid fast foods and fizzy drinks.

Medics suggest that cancer has always been the number one worry of the human race but, with the arrival of coronavirus, cancer has taken a back seat.

““Cancer, which is a dreaded disease, has taken a backseat because of COVID-19. People have forgotten that they have to go for a regular checkup. It is important that they do a regular check up. Ninety per cent of cancers are curable if detected early,” Dr Rajyashree N Kutty in a interview to a website said.

“It is important to remember that early detection saves lives, and is the key to complete cure and survival – up to 95 per cent cases can be detected if early, regular check checkups are done,” she says.

“Pinky”, the app that helps diagnose breast cancer at an early stage can be downloaded on the smartphone. It is also called promise and alnoor app in Arabic and English languages.

One can also join the fight against breast cancer by wearing any shade of pink as well as showing that ‘you care’ by donating RO1 per month to Oman Cancer Association (OCA) through sms 90233 in PINKTOBER.

“Many hospitals and doctors are doing consultation and counselling by telemedicine, so there is reduced exposure, and less chance of COVID-19 infection, while making sure you are getting your regular check up done,” doctors said.