Can breast cancer be prevented? When should you begin self-examination?

Doctors continue to emphasise on the importance of higher vigilance and early detection to combat rising incidence of breast cancer. Dr Arun Karanwal (pictured), specialist medical oncologist, Prime Health Care Group, Dubai, told Gulf News: “As per the latest data from the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention, breast cancer forms nearly 20 per cent of all cancers occurring in both men and women. In just female cancers, this number goes up to 38 per cent .” When should breast self-exam start? Although breast cancer was earlier considered a condition for elderly women above the age of 55, now as per the American and European cancer associations it is advisable for women to begin breast self-examination in their thirties and go in for annual mammogram screening by the age of 40.

Elaborating on self-examination, Dr Karanwal advised , “a week after a woman’s periods get over, she can conduct a breast self exam. She needs to look for any change in the shape of her breast, any discharge, redness, swelling or lump in either of her breasts. If she finds something, she must report immediately to the nearest hospital for further examination and diagnostic screening.”

Who is at risk? As per the current trends every woman needs to be vigilant, but the particularly highrisk group is of women who have a definite family history of cancer in general or breast cancer in particular and those who may carry the mutation gene – BRCA 1 or BRCA 2. “The mutation means that these women have a very high chance of being detected with breast and /or ovarian cancer. Such women must take care to go in for early self breast examination and preventive mammogram screening. The age is determined by the age of their relative who was first diagnosed with this cancer. The younger family member has to begin screening ten years earlier than that age,” elaborated Dr Karanwal .

Why is preventive screening important? As per general statistics, there is a 90-95 per cent survival and remission in the case of breast cancer when detected in the first stage, explained Dr Karanwal.

“A woman whose breast cancer is detected in stage three has a drastic fall in survival rate, down to 50-60 per cent. Therefore, women are advised to be extra vigilant to detect pre-malignant or stage 1 malignant tumours, which dramatically mean a high survival rate. Early detection is the key in treatment of breast cancer,” added Dr Karanwal.

American and European cancer associations advise for women to start breast self-examination in their thirties and get annual mammogram screening by 40.