Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and is a campaign to raise awareness of the disease.

The Morningside Breast Care Unit has launched a live website where communities can interact with the unit and ask the breast specialists questions related to breast cancer screening and management (surgery, chemotherapy and radiation) free of charge. Early detection can result in improved treatment.

Dr Sudeshen Naidoo, who forms part of a team of specialists at the hospital said, “We believe in the holistic management of patients with cancers and attention to all details regarding each treatment are addressed in the forum thereby ensuring that you will receive the best available treatment.”

The Morningside Breast Care Unit was established with the aim of providing optimal care for patients and multidisciplinary meetings are held weekly where various specialists discuss individual cases and recommend treatment.

Read also: Get Fearless for breast cancer

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women worldwide. “… it is important to take note that the vast majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer will not die from the disease and are cured as a result of improved treatment and earlier detection of the disease,” said Naidoo.

He added that breast cancer screening using mammography had led to earlier detection of the disease. “There remains a number of controversies as to when women should start and stop breast cancer screening but most groups advise screening for women over 50 years of age.

“Earlier age screening is only recommended for those women who have a higher risk than average for development of the disease and your doctor should be able to advise you if earlier screening is advised.”

If you would like to examine your breasts yourself it is advised to receive instructions from your doctor on how to do this and that it should not substitute regular mammographic screening, he added.

“Breast cancer does occur in women younger than 50 and it has been noted that particularly when it presents at age less than 40 years there is an increased risk of the presence of a genetic trait known as the BRCA mutation or gene.”

Tips and advice:

• There are three specialised breast care centres with open access to clinics in the Johannesburg area.
• Not everyone who gets diagnosed with breast cancer will need chemotherapy.
• The risk of recurrence can be significantly reduced by the addition of radiation therapy.
• Breast cancer can be cured and the majority of women diagnosed with the disease are cured provided they receive the correct treatment.

Details: www.morningsidebreastcare.co.za

For more information on Breast Health and our contact details please visit our website.