Amid Breast Cancer Awareness Month, specialist Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Dr. K.J Tlale has shared some important insights about the realities of breast cancer and how to look out for this illness.
Dr. Tlale shares the alarmingly increasing rate of breast cancer among women in South Africa and the importance of aggressive awareness and education, “As a doctor, October is a month of hard work to me. This month has to be used primarily to promote the care of the breast.
The risk of getting cancer increases with age with one in 227 women aged 30, one in 68 women aged between 40 and 50, and one in every 28 women aged 60 to 70 suffering from this illness, so awareness through workshops and regular mammograms must be conducted”.
She mentions that screening for breast cancer starts as soon as a girl child starts developing breast buds. “Using hands to feel for lumps on the whole breast tissue at least once a month is important for a start. For those with a genetic history of breast cancer, annual breast checks become mandatory from age 35, whereas if there is no family history, then every second year at the most, from age 40. Men should be aware that they are susceptible to getting breast cancer as per family history.
Other than feeling for lumps, an eye must be kept on the skin changes, for example, the color or texture of the skin and any nipple discharges, especially the bloody one. Constant pain in the breast is also a key symptom to look out for”, Dr. Tlale says.
Besides breast cancer checks, men are strongly advised to have checks done for prostate cancer once a year from age 40. “Another form of Cancer that has become a risk amongst men is colon cancer. Tests like colonoscopies are essential to screening for this type of cancer and have to be performed at least once a year, whereas women have to be additionally screened for cervical cancer by having Pap smears done once sexually active, annually or at the most, every second year together with ovarian cancer look out from age 40”, she says.
Awareness workshops and regular mammograms are not the only priority that Dr. Tlale highlights as a way to curb this scourge. “Another major problem that many cancer patients have to face is funding for treatment. The cost of treatment is particularly high and the importance of financial support coupled with emotional support really goes a long way”, she says.
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