Every year, 17,000 people are diagnosed with breast cancer. What many people do not know is that 20 to 25 percent of these people are younger than 50 years old. And this number has been increasing in recent years. Because it is so important to spot complaints or symptoms yourself in time, the Know Your Breasts campaign has started today. JAN will tell you more about it.
Know Your Breasts campaign
The Alexander Monro Hospital, a hospital specialized in breast cancer, collaborates with the Breast Care Foundation for this purpose. Together they created the Breast Cancer Alphabet, to make people aware of the diverse symptoms of the most common form of cancer in women. Because: the earlier a diagnosis can be made, the greater the chance of survival. The digitally designed alphabet makes the things you need to pay attention to visually clear very well.
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The breast cancer alphabet was launched in Utrecht with an impressive photo. A total of 26 patients, doctors, nurses, relatives and friends of breast cancer patients, had their picture taken together.
The Breast Cancer Alphabet
Detecting breast cancer in time
In the Netherlands, around 2,500 people aged 18 to 35 are diagnosed with breast cancer every year. This disease is often discovered much later in patients under the age of fifty. Because abnormalities are less easy to find, or because young adults usually do not immediately think of breast cancer when they feel or see an abnormality in their breast.
As a result, they often come to the doctor later with complaints, which means that the cancer diagnosis is made later, with all possible consequences. Breast cancer in women under fifty is often more aggressive than in older patients. This increases the chance of a worse outcome for young people. There is also a greater chance of breast cancer returning.
‘1 in 5 women hardly or never checks her breasts’
Previous research from the Alexander Monro Hospital showed that more than 84 percent of women are not familiar with the twelve most common symptoms of breast cancer. Also, 85 percent of women are unaware that most symptoms can be seen in their breasts. More than 1 in 5 women do not check their breasts at all.
With the ‘Know your breasts’ campaign, the organizations aim to help all (young) women in the Netherlands get to know their breasts better. For this purpose they developed the Breast Cancer Alphabet, where each letter illustrates a factor or common symptom of breast cancer.
For more information about the campaign and to read the entire alphabet (recommended!), visit the website.
The Breast Cancer Alphabet
2023-09-29 11:01:23
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