Breast Cancer Prevention Month
Breast cancer is a predominantly female disease and is increasingly affecting younger women, creating a new distribution pattern for the disease.
Benedito Fittipaldi - Doctor
Among all the actions aimed at disease prevention, many of them using colors and months of the year, the PINK OCTOBER, which involves breast cancer, is the most famous, being a worldwide event.
Breast cancer is a disease caused by the disordered multiplication of abnormal cells in the breast, which forms a tumor with the potential to invade other organs. There are several types of breast cancer. Some grow quickly, while others grow slowly. As medical and biological sciences advance over time, disease is being better understood in its aspects of origin, treatment and evolution.
While it is rare, but not non-existent among men, it is a predominantly female disease that is increasingly affecting younger women, creating a new distribution pattern for the disease. Among other things, it is believed that factors related to the new lifestyle of modern women, who work outside, smoke and drink more, have shorter breastfeeding periods, when they have them, and spend less time caring for themselves than those of previous generations, may be contributing to the disease affecting younger women.
There are already well-defined genetic components involved in the origin of the disease, making it possible to carry out specific preventive tests. However, these tests are not yet widely available and are expensive when paid for by the patient. Fortunately, its indication is still restricted to those cases where the disease is present in the family lineage, i.e. it can be identified in relatives with hereditary ancestry.
It is believed that women are more exposed to the disease due to physical and environmental factors related to their social emancipation. Now, the social emancipation of women is a path of no return, having started late, as is now the consensus in all modern societies, and so, until a cure is found, the greatest and best efforts must be put into PREVENTION.
We all know that it’s not always possible to fulfill these “commandments” and it’s very important for every woman to know basically two things:
- Fulfilling all these commandments, and many others, will not free a woman from breast cancer.
- Failure to comply with any or all of these rules will not cause a woman to get breast cancer.
In view of these two postulates, it can be concluded that all efforts should be allocated to prevention, but it is important that women who are unable, for whatever reason, to comply with this or that preventive commandment, do not feel martyred or guilty and have their lives made miserable because of it.
Once the preventive actions have been taken, there are some considerations to be made on the issue of early detection, which is so important in all types of cancer.
Early detection of breast cancer is achieved through radiological examinations. The mainstay is mammography, which can be complemented mainly by breast ultrasound and, in some cases, the use of breast MRI.
There is controversy about at what age to start, and until what age to extend these tests. The Brazilian Society of Mastology, the Brazilian College of Radiology (CBR) and the Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics follow the guidelines of starting at 40 years of age, annually, until the age of 75, which can be extended according to life expectancy. Patients considered to be at high risk of breast cancer and/or hereditary syndromes require follow-up with specialist doctors and more appropriate radiological detection.
And finally, it is essential to remember that the preventive commandment gold standardwhich can be fulfilled by all women, regardless of their social or professional status, is the SELF-EXAMINATION This means carefully palpating both breasts and expressing them to look for any lumps or secretions that may come out of the nipples. This is the most economical, accessible and powerful preventive method. START TODAY! MARK THE DATE ON YOUR CALENDAR AND MAKE SELF-EXAMINATION YOUR MOST POWERFUL ALLY. THE MODERN WOMAN’S ALLY AGAINST BREAST CANCER!
And it doesn’t hurt to ask and remember:
Can men get breast cancer?
According to the National Cancer Institute, around 200 men die of breast cancer in Brazil every year. While the number of women who go through the same process is around 14,000.