Breast cancer detected early can be completely cured.

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in women, but is 90% curable if detected early.

On October 19, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan acknowledged that cancer is becoming a major burden for countries, including Vietnam. The rate of breast cancer in our country is high, ranking first in the number of new cases of cancer in women with 21,555 cases, and third in the number of deaths from cancer with more than 9,000 cases.

"Many women are hesitant and delay screening to detect the disease early, when they know it is in the late stages, treatment is difficult and less effective," the Minister said, adding that screening to detect the disease early is important, with a cure rate of up to 90%. In the late stages, treatment is often only to prolong life and reduce painful symptoms.

Associate Professor, Dr. Le Hong Quang, Head of the Breast Surgery Department, K Hospital, also said that breast cancer often appears with symptoms of lumps in the mammary glands. Usually, when new lumps appear, they are often painless, so patients are easily subjective. Tumors often develop silently, gradually increasing over time, and only when they reach a certain size do patients worry and come for a check-up.

Currently, women aged 40 and over should be screened for early detection of breast cancer. Those at high risk should be proactive in screening earlier.

Breast cancer screening patients at K Hospital. Photo: Le Nga — Breast cancer screening patients at K Hospital. Photo: *Le Nga*

The cause of the disease is due to gene mutations that cause cells to reproduce uncontrollably. There are many reasons why the body has gene mutations, of which about 5-7% of cases are caused by genetics, the remaining more than 90% of cases are affected by environmental factors and lifestyle.

Risk factors that increase the risk of breast cancer in women include age (over 50); genetics, having a mother or sister with the disease; early menstruation (before age 12), late menopause (after age 55).

Some studies show that women who smoke or drink alcohol within 5 years of starting their menstrual cycle are 70% more likely to develop cancer before the age of 50 than those who do not smoke. Women with dense breast tissue, those who have had radiation therapy to the chest before the age of 30, and those who are obese are also at risk.

Breast cancer treatment has made great strides today, including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, combined with other treatment methods such as hormonal therapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. However, the key to effective treatment is early detection of cancer.

Doctors at K Hospital perform surgery on a breast cancer patient. Photo: Thai Tran — Doctors at K Hospital perform surgery on a breast cancer patient. Photo: *Thai Tran*

K Hospital experts guide you through a simple 5-minute breast exam at home:

Step 1 : Stand in front of the mirror, put your arms down and observe whether both breasts are even, whether the color of the breast skin is abnormal, check for signs such as retraction of the breast skin and nipples.

Step 2 : Spread your arms out, place your hands behind your head and look for abnormalities as in step 1.

Step 3 : Lie on your back on the bed, put your left hand over your neck, and use your right hand to examine your left breast. Use 3 straight fingers to gently press on the breast and rub in a spiral motion to find lumps or unusual thick patches from the areola outwards.

Step 4 : Move up to the armpit area and feel the lymph nodes around the armpit, supraclavicular lymph nodes, and cervical lymph nodes.

Step 5 : Press your finger on the nipple to detect abnormal nipple discharge.

Then, do the same with the left breast. If you find any abnormalities during self-examination, you should go to the hospital immediately to determine whether it is a sign of cancer or not.

Le Nga

Source link