Since the pandemic of Sars-CoV-2 There has been a large percentage of people who stopped having their routine medical checkups, thus increasing the risk of decompensation of many diseases and of detecting early tumors early. Breast cancer is one of the pathologies in which this phenomenon has occurred.
The breast cancer it is the one that produces the highest mortality from cancer in women in our country. According to figures from GLOBOCANIn 2020, there were more than 5,300 new cases and more than 1,600 women died for this reason. However, 95% of those who undergo their annual check-up and who suffer from breast cancer recover from the disease, while only 60% of the women who have this pathology and who do not undergo annual check-ups, manage to overcome cancer.
“For women 40 years of age and over, the annual breast check-up by a specialist doctor together with mammography are the most effective tools to detect a breast tumor and reduce mortality due to breast cancer, and at the same time, perform much less invasive treatments ”, explains Dr. Nicolás Droppelmann, oncologist surgeon and coordinator of the Breast Cancer Program at Clínica Universidad de los Andes.
Meanwhile, for women with risk factors for breast cancer, it is advisable to have a check-up between the ages of 30 and 40, in which it is established if it is necessary to do a mammogram before 40 and if it should be repeated annually.
Risk factors for breast cancer are:
- Having had a first-degree relative with this cancer.
- Carrying a known genetic mutation for breast cancer (such as mutations in the BRCA 1 and BRCA2 genes).
- Not having children or having had the first one after the age of 35.
- Not having breastfed.
- Being on hormone replacement therapy for menopause.
- Having had late menopause (after age 55).
Why is having a mammogram so important?
Mammography is an X-ray of the breast. It is a simple and quick procedure, takes no more than 10 minutes and requires no preparation. In many cases, a breast ultrasound is also requested, which helps to better see the lumps or cysts in the breasts. This simple exam helps save many lives.
At Clínica Universidad de los Andes, we have the Pre-Breast Program, aimed at women over 40, which seeks to prevent breast cancer all year round and not just in October.
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