Rare: Having breast cancer in both breasts at the same time, women should have regular screening

According to the Central Obstetrics Hospital, Ms. PTY (68 years old, Long Bien, Hanoi ) initially accidentally saw a small pink blood stain on her bra but did not feel any pain or discomfort so she ignored it. A month later, this sign recurred, accompanied by an unusual discharge on her nipples, so she went to the hospital for examination. Here, the diagnosis results showed that she had breast cancer on both sides at the same time - a very rare disease in clinical practice.

After consulting with the doctor, the patient decided to have surgery to completely remove both breasts and dissect the axillary lymph nodes to eliminate the risk of recurrence.

On the morning of February 6, the Central Obstetrics Hospital successfully performed a rare, groundbreaking surgery in the treatment of gynecological cancer.

Surgeons performed bilateral mastectomy on the patient.

Due to his advanced age and underlying medical conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure, the patient’s surgery was more difficult than a normal case. The surgery, which lasted for several hours, was successful, opening up a chance for the patient to live.

According to doctors, after surgery, the patient will continue to be monitored and treated with endocrine therapy to reduce the risk of recurrence. If the results of the biopsy samples from the bilateral tumors show that the level of invasion has not metastasized, Ms. Y may not need chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Dr. Nguyen Van Thang, Head of the Department of Gynecological Oncology, Central Obstetrics Hospital, said that bilateral breast cancer is a rare disease, but can be detected early through screening.

According to statistics from the Global Cancer Organization (GLOBOCAN), in 2022, Vietnam recorded about 24,563 new cases of breast cancer, accounting for 25.8% of all cancers in women; the recorded incidence rate was 49.6/100,000 women.

Breast cancer is a worrying disease if detected at a late stage. Experts at K Hospital say that for women who detect it at an early stage, the success rate of treatment can be up to 90% because modern techniques have been applied in examination and treatment. More importantly, the effectiveness will be improved if the patient detects and treats it at the "golden time".

People with high risk factors should be screened for breast cancer annually.

Therefore, Dr. Thang recommends that women over 40 years old should have a regular check-up every 2 years, and those with high risk factors (family history of breast cancer, gene mutations) should be screened annually. The cost of screening is low but brings great value, helping to detect the disease at an early stage, increasing the possibility of successful treatment and reducing treatment costs.

For breast cancer in women, doctors also recommend that women should proactively check and screen regularly for early detection, making the treatment process easier and more cost-effective, while increasing the cure rate. For patients fighting this disease, following the doctor's treatment regimen and trusting in the country's medical system will help control the disease better, bringing the highest treatment efficiency.

Source: https://cand.com.vn/y-te/hiem-gap-mac-ung-thu-vu-cung-luc-ca-hai-ben-chi-em-nen-tam-soat-dinh-ky-i758425/