Wear Pink! – RACUOK Blog

Post Views: 1

“The pink ribbon is more than just a symbol; it is a reminder of our shared humanity and our unwavering support for those impacted by breast cancer.”

What is Breast Cancer Awareness Month?

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an international health campaign held every October. This month aims to promote screening and prevention of the disease that affects 2.3 million women worldwide. Known for its pink theme, this month features a number of campaigns and programs run by groups ranging from breast cancer advocacy organizations, local community organizations, to major retailers aimed at:

• Supports people diagnosed with breast cancer, including those with metastatic breast cancer.
• Educate the public about breast cancer risk factors.
• Encourage women to have regular breast cancer screenings starting at age 40 or older, depending on personal breast cancer risk.
• Raising funds for breast cancer research.

What is breast cancer?

Breast cancer occurs when abnormal cells in the breast grow out of control. These cells usually form tumors that are often visible on X-rays or palpable as lumps. If it spreads outside the breast to other parts of the body, it will become advanced breast cancer. When breast cancer spreads to other parts of the body (such as the liver, lungs, bones, or brain), it is said to have metastasized and is referred to as metastatic breast cancer.

Who is at risk?

Female gender is the strongest risk factor for breast cancer. About 99% of breast cancer occurs in women and 0.5-1% of breast cancer occurs in men. Treatment of breast cancer in men follows the same management principles as in women. Certain factors increase the risk of breast cancer including:

• Increasing age
• Obesity
• Dangerous use of alcohol
• Family history of breast cancer
• History of radiation exposure
• Reproductive history (such as age of start of menstrual period and age of first pregnancy)
• Tobacco use
• Postmenopausal hormone therapy

About half of breast cancers occur in women who have no identifiable breast cancer risk factors other than gender (female) and age (over 40 years). A family history of breast cancer increases the risk of breast cancer, but most women diagnosed with breast cancer have no family history of the disease. Lack of a known family history does not mean that a woman is at lower risk.

Breast Cancer in Men

Many people don’t know that men can get breast cancer, even though everyone has breast tissue. Breast cancer in men is cancer that starts in a small amount of breast tissue. Breast cancer in men is rare. Most men diagnosed are over 60 years old, but younger men can also get breast cancer.

Signs and symptoms

Most people will not experience any symptoms when the cancer is still early, therefore it is important to have early detection. Breast cancer can have a combination of symptoms, especially if it is in an advanced stage. Breast cancer symptoms can include:

• A lump or thickening of the breast, often painless.
• Changes in the size, shape, or appearance of the breasts.
• Dimpling, redness, pitting, or other changes to the skin.
• Changes in the appearance of the nipple or the skin around the nipple (areola).
• Abnormal or bloody discharge from the nipple.

People with abnormal breast lumps should seek medical treatment, even if the lump is not painful. Most breast lumps are not cancer. Cancerous breast lumps are more likely to be treated successfully if they are small and have not spread to nearby lymph nodes.

Treatment

Breast cancer treatment depends on the subtype of cancer and how widely it has spread outside the breast, to the lymph nodes (stage II or III) or to other parts of the body (stage IV). Doctors combine treatments to minimize the chance of the cancer returning (recurring). These include:

• Surgery to remove breast tumors.
• Radiation therapy to reduce the risk of recurrence in the breast and surrounding tissue.
• drugs to kill cancer cells and prevent their spread, including hormonal therapy, chemotherapy, or targeted biological therapy.

Treatment for breast cancer will be more effective and better tolerated if it is started early and carried to completion. Surgery can only remove cancerous tissue (called a lumpectomy) or the entire breast (mastectomy). Surgery can also remove lymph nodes to assess the cancer’s ability to spread. Radiation therapy treats microscopic residual cancer remaining in the breast tissue and/or lymph nodes and minimizes the chance of cancer recurring in the chest wall.

Advanced cancer can erode the skin and cause open sores (ulceration) but this does not necessarily cause pain. Women with breast wounds that do not heal should seek medical care for a biopsy. Medicines for treating breast cancer are selected based on the biological properties of the cancer determined through special tests (determination of tumor markers). Most of the drugs used for breast cancer are on the WHO Essential Medicines List (EML).

The effectiveness of breast cancer therapy depends on comprehensive treatment. Partial treatments are less likely to produce positive results.

Prevention and symptoms of breast cancer

It is estimated that 30% of breast cancer cases are caused by modifiable risk factors. We must understand what we can do to reduce the risk of breast cancer. This can be done by making better behavioral choices which include:

• Maintain a healthy weight
• Stay physically active
• Avoid dangerous use of alcohol
• Breast-feed
• Stop using tobacco and avoid exposure to tobacco smoke
• Avoid using hormones for a long time
• Avoid excessive radiation exposure

The survival rate for breast cancer sufferers is very high if the cancer is detected early and treatment is available. Five-year survival rates from breast cancer exceed 90% in high-income countries, compared with 66% in India and 40% in South Africa. Unfortunately, many cases of breast cancer are diagnosed at advanced stages in many low- and middle-income countries, when the cancer is more difficult to treat, more expensive, and usually incurable. Despite the progress and progress seen in the field of breast cancer in recent years, current data highlights that by 2040, the incidence of breast cancer will increase by 40%, and mortality rates are expected to increase by 50%, with the number of cases and deaths increasing. disproportionately expected to occur in 2020. low resource settings.

WHO response

The aim of the WHO Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI) is to reduce the global breast cancer death rate by 2.5% per year, thereby preventing 2.5 million breast cancer deaths globally between 2020 and 2040. Reducing the death rate from global breast cancer rate of 2.5% per year will prevent 25% of breast cancer deaths in 2030 and 40% in 2040 occurring in women under the age of 70 years. The three pillars to achieve this goal are:

• Health promotion for early detection
• Timely diagnosis
• Comprehensive breast cancer management