Women caught in storm of risk factors for breast cancer

Make a monthly date with your mirror to beat death-rate, oncologists warn

Too many women are ignorant about signs of breast cancer, leaving it too late to seek successful treatment, experts warn, pointing to the dread statistic of two women dying every day in Sri Lanka from the cancer.

Lack of knowledge and late detection are the leading causes of women dying of breast cancer, the Cancer Registry of National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) said.

Every day, the NCCP says, 10 more women are found in hospitals around the country, seeking treatment for breast cancer-related symptoms. Breast cancer amounts to a third of all reported cancers.

Doctors said 10 per cent of the cancers reported are among women who have a family history of breast cancer, with the cancer being triggered by the age of 30-40 years.

With 90 per cent of cancers occurring in women above the age of 40 and average life expectancy increasing (currently 74 years), oncologists say women need to be urgently taught how to detect breast cancer and seek early treatment.

NCCP Consultant Community Physician, NCCP Dr. Nayana de Alwis said early detection can prevent aggressive surgery, preserve a woman’s body image and contribute to the “fiveyear survival rate”.

For these reasons the NCCP wants all women above 20 years to set aside one day a month to

check their breasts. Younger women should ideally do this a week before their menstrual cycle begins.

The female hormones, oestrogen and progesterone, which promote breast cancer cell growth, make women 100 times more likely than men to get the disease.

Starting menstruation before the age of 12 and experiencing menopause after the age of 55 are further risk factors because women are exposed to the female hormones for longer periods. Multiple chest radiation therapy during adolescence also can be harmful.

Contrarily, multiple pregnancy, pregnancy at an early age, longer period of breast-feeding (which reduces the number of menstrual cycles in women), can combat breast cancer.

In recent times, obesity and the increase of fat levels in women have been found to be triggering factors along with chemicals in food and drink and the constant inhalation of traffic fumes.

Taking contraceptive pills for considerable periods, using hormone replacement therapy,

excessive alcohol consumption and a sedentary lifestyle can contribute to the disease..

Dr. de Alwis said the number of patients undergoing aggressive surgery has risen due to delays in seeking treatment and the stigma related to the disease.

The free treatment centres set up in hospitals for early detection under-utilised due to poor knowledge of available health services.

There are around a thousand “healthy lifestyle” centres around the country including Well Women Clinics in more than 500 MOH (Medical Office of Health) unit. Women can walk into any of these centres for examination without prior appointment. Midwives are on hand to assist women with the examination.

Mammograms are not recommended for younger women. “Ultrasound scans can be harmful and dense tissues can make it difficult to detect abnormal cells,” Dr. de Alwis said.

(Please see ST 2 Page 3 for article on breast cancer by Consultant Surgical Oncologist Dr. Indranee Amarasinghe)