Today there are also therapeutic spaces for complex cases of metastatic women.
The oncological pathology of the breast is of increasing importance not only from the clinical point of view but also from the social point of view, because it involves more and more young women, in the prime of their lives, workers, mothers. Prevention is therefore always essential to identify the disease in its initial phase so as to be able to guarantee a wide possibility of recovery.
We talk about it with Massimo Grassi, head of the Senology and Breast Unit of Humanitas Gavazzeni and Castelli.
Doctor Grassi, healings are increasing but breast cancer cases are also increasing.
“It’s true, every year there is an increase in the incidence of new cases in Italy and in the world. In 2019 there were about 57,000 new cases in Italy but there is also an increase in the curability of the disease which corresponds to a progressive reduction in mortality. Today we are talking about a 90-95% survival when we intervene with an early diagnosis that allows us to have a wide range of therapies and treatments that are increasingly personalized ».
The difference is prevention. At what age is it good to have a first breast examination?
«There is no more age for this disease. A large portion of patients are under the age of 40/42, but it can also happen to contract cancer at 100 years of age. Today a 20-year-old girl, in addition to the gynecological examination, cannot fail to also make a breast examination. Unfortunately, it is not so uncommon to find breast cancer even under the age of 30 ».
What are the signs to watch out for?
“The finding of a lump, which each woman can detect, for example, with the self-examination of the breasts: the characteristics that make it suspect are the hardness, the very irregular margins, sometimes not very definable in the context of the mammary gland, little nodules mobile, blood, blood-like or rock-water secretions. These signals must be brought to the attention of the family doctor and then of the specialist ».
What is the path that the specialist follows to make a diagnosis?
«If during the clinical visit a suspicious swelling is found, the indispensable tests are mammography and ultrasound; if the suspicion is confirmed, we proceed with further investigations such as needle biopsy and, in some cases, breast MRI ».
When does multidisciplinarity count for dealing with this disease?
«Very much, today it is not possible to deal with breast cancer sporadically. The Breast Unit is the answer, that is to say a reality composed of several operative units that, in an interdisciplinary way, face and solve in the best way every problem that the breast disease path presents, with a real and proven benefit for each patient. Interested in the treatment of breast cancer are in fact not only senologists, but also oncologists, pathological anatomy and plastic surgery specialists, physiatrists, psychologists, radiologists, radiotherapists, nuclear doctors, geneticists, breast care nurses, data managers “.
Are there spaces for treatment for metastatic women?
“Absolutely yes. Today a metastatic woman, the one who for a second time, after some time, encounters the disease again, has a wide range of treatments. In fact, there are drugs that are giving exciting results and even metastatic surgery that once, a few decades ago, was not considered, today it is an aspect that is taken into consideration in some situations, well studied, after the necessary medical treatment ” .
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