• THE PHILIPPINES is at the center of the battle against breast cancer. Several reports show that the country has the highest incidence rate in Asia and is among the top 10 countries with the most cases of breast cancer. The disease is so common that one of every 13 Filipino women are expected to develop breast cancer in her lifetime.
• Breast cancer is a preventable and curable disease. The number of breast cancer survivors is steadily increasing worldwide because of better disease awareness and the practice of regular screening that helps detect the disease at an earlier, thereby, more curable stage.
• The most common sign of breast cancer is a new lump or mass in the breast. In addition, check for nipple discharge or redness, breast or nipple pain and swelling of part of the breast or dimpling.
• Women who start their menstrual cycle at a younger age (before 12) or go through menopause later (after 55) have a slightly increased risk of developing breast cancer.
• Having no children or the first child after age 30 increases the risk of breast cancer.
• Breast-feeding for one-and-a-half to two years might slightly lower the risk of breast cancer.
• Being overweight increases the risk of breast cancer.
• Use of oral contraceptives in the last 10 years increases the risk of breast cancer.
• Using combined hormone therapy after menopause increases the risk of breast cancer.
• Alcohol use increases the risk of breast cancer, and this seems to be proportional to the amount of alcohol used.
• Research suggests that long-term smoking is associated with increased risk of breast cancer in some women.
• Exercise may lower the risk of breast cancer.
• Women in their 20s and 30s should have a clinical breast exam (CBE) as part of regular health exams by a health care professional about every three years, and every year for women 40 years of age and over. Women age 40 and older should have a screening mammogram every year and should continue to do so as long as they are in good health. — Philippine Society of Medical Oncology
