BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN: Over the past 10 years (2002 to 2011), breast cancer has been ranked the top, most common cancer among women in the country. Overall, breast cancer has always been ranked within the top two cancers diagnosed among patients in the Sultanate, Borneo Bulletin reported.
This was yesterday revealed by Associate Professor Dr Hj Muhd Shafiq bin Abdullah, Consultant Grade II at RIPAS Hospital, during a breast cancer talk organised by the Health Promotion Centre with the support of BASMIDA, a national association against drug abuse in Brunei Darussalam.
Highlighting the need for early detection and at the same time dispelling some of the breast cancer myths, Dr Hj Muhd Shafiq pointed out, “The myth that I’m too young to worry about breast cancer is wrong. In Brunei, the youngest patient was 18 years old, and about 20 per cent of the breast cancer patients are in the childbearing age.”
With regard to the myth that women under 40 years old won’t get breast cancer, he said, “This is also incorrect because women of all ages can develop breast cancer. A woman’s risk of developing breast cancer increases with age.”
He highlighted, “90 per cent of breast cancer patients have no family history, while 70 per cent have no identifiable cause. However, there is an increased risk if there are cases of cancer in the family history, which means if your mother or sister is diagnosed with breast cancer, your chances of getting the disease are doubled.
“Men too can also be diagnosed with breast cancer, although it is rare. About one per cent of all cases of breast cancer is male patients.”
The myth that small-breasted women have a very low risk of developing breast cancer “is not true because every woman is at risk, regardless of breast size, race or socioeconomic status.”
It was also pointed out that the myth ofwearing under-wired bras causing breast cancer is also unfounded, as there is no convincing evidence. However, it was explained that it is of importance to wear right-fitted size bras.
In terms of birth control pills causing cancer, he advised, “This is true because the pill contains estrogen. Member of the public who want to use birth control pills must consult a doctor first, and not simply get the pill off the shelves.
“There is also risk of hormone replace therapy as well as risk of estrogen in cosmetic procedure like breast enhancement,” Dr Hj Muhd Shafiq said.
With regard to detecting a lump in the breast, he explained, “A majority of the time it is not breast cancer. Eighty per cent of breast lumps are benign, while having lumpy breast or fibrocystic breasts does not increase the chances of developing breast cancer. However, it is best to practise regular self-breast examinations and have clinical breast examinations.”
In lowering the risk for breast cancer, he advised the public to lose weight if they are obese, exercise regularly, lower alcohol consumption, practice self-breast examination and have clinical examinations as well as mammograms, and to quit smoking.
Dr Hj Muhd Shafiq later showed the link between being overweight and increased risk of cancer, among them being cancer of the uterus, breast, prostate, kidney, liver, pancreas. esophagus, colon and rectum.
He then went on to show the 1998 statistics on Prevalence Obesity in Asean countries, where Brunei topped the chart with the high percentage of overweight and obese people.
It was recorded that the overweight male figure stood at 33.8 per cent, while the female figure stood at 31.3 per cent. Meanwhile, the obese male figure stood at 11.2 per cent, and 12.8 per cent for their female counterpart.
He also emphasised that better treatment and early diagnosis improve the outcome tremendously. Besides mastectomy as the last option, other options for treatment includes breast conservation, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormones, molecular targeted therapy and others.
Later, the 10 breast cancer risk reduction methods were listed being to quit drinking and smoking, regular exercise like brisk walk for 1.25 to 2.5 hours per week which can reduce a woman’s risk by 18 per cent, be aware of family history of breast cancer, avoid hormone replacement therapy, to have monthly breast examinations, consume a low-fat diet, have children earlier in life if possible, consider breast-feeding instead of formula feeding, and consider mammogram postmenopausal.
Among the present for the talk were BASMIDA President Datin Hjh Masni binti Hj Ali with BASMIDA Vice President Hajah Linda Aini Abdullah.
Datin Hjh Masni later highlighted that “the talk is to raise awareness and knowledge on breast cancer for many of the participants, including members of the BASMIDA movement who lack knowledge on breast cancer. We want to highlight that prevention is better than cure.”