Awareness, accessibility
THE level of awareness among urban Malaysians of breast cancer and the need to go for regular screenings has been getting better over the last few years.
In rural areas, however, the level of awareness is still below standard. Coupled with the fact that accessibility to proper screening and treatment facilities is poor, this means that a large number of women only go for treatment at the later stages of their cancer or, even worse, do not seek treatment at all.
“Awareness and accessibility in the east coast of the peninsula and in Sabah and Sarawak is sorely lacking. Though the big government hospitals all over Malaysia generally have good facilities, the smaller rural government hospitals and clinics lack the facilities and specialists required to provide much needed breast cancer screening and consultation,” says Dr Patricia Gomez, consultant breast surgeon at Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur.
“In Malaysia, healthcare for breast cancer is mostly urban,” she continues. “It is widely available in urban areas, but it is opportunistic, meaning the women have to come forward themselves to seek it.”
In countries such as the United States and United Kingdom, national screening programmes are available where the government invites women to get regular screenings; the programmes are essential as the incidences of breast cancer are high in these countries – about one in nine women present with breast cancer.
In Malaysia, though the numbers are not as high, they are increasing. A few years ago, every one woman in 30 was diagnosed with breast cancer. Now, the average is one in 19, though certain Malaysian races have higher incidences – for example, one in 14 Chinese women is diagnosed with breast cancer.
“But these are hospital- based figures, so there may be a large number of women with breast cancer who never come forward. The incidences of breast cancer in Malaysian women may be much higher than we think,” says Dr Gomez.
Besides accessibility, there are several reasons for women not seeking treatment, including social stigma or even plain denial.
Because knowledge about breast cancer is poor, families and communities may not give a woman with breast cancer the support she needs or may ostracise her for having a disease.
The woman herself may go into denial because of the belief that having a cancer means there is no hope for survival.
“We need to remove the barriers that prevent women from seeking treatment. The best way to get around these barriers is education,” says Dr Gomez.
Women in Malaysia should be educated not only about breast cancer, but also that they should be making decisions about their own bodies and health, she continues.
It is unfortunate that in many families, such decisions are still made by the males, who may also not fully understand what needs to be done.
“Both men and women should be educated about breast cancer, the need for proper treatment, and the need for early treatment,” she says.
Dr Gomez reveals that in this year’s Wear It Pink Women’s Health Summit, which is organised by Pantai Hospital Kuala Lumpur, besides discussions and workshops about breast cancer and women’s health, there will be a programme for men.
This programme will teach men why it is important to bring their women forward for screenings and treatments and also how they can be a pillar of support for the women in their family who are diagnosed with breast cancer as they go through their treatments and beyond.