Cancer is a genetic disease and the most common in women is breast cancer, said oncologist Daniel Boyas Arroyo, assigned to the General Regional Hospital with Family Medicine (HGR/MF) No. 1 of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) in Cuernavaca.
According to the specialist, cancer can be cured if it is identified in its early stages, that is, according to the size of the tumor and its degree of penetration. In stage zero or stage 1, it is cured, while in stage 2 it can be controlled.
Mrs. Araceli “N”, a 61-year-old beneficiary, shared that it was in 2012 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the Family Medicine Unit (UMF) No. 20 in Cuernavaca, and she immediately put herself in the hands of the Social Security staff to begin her treatment.
“When we hear the word cancer, we associate it with death, but I found the courage to continue living, to fight and to move forward to be with my family,” she said.
In this regard, Dr. Daniel Boyas said that “depending on the stage of breast cancer in a patient, conservative surgeries are currently available, removing only a portion of the breast and avoiding very long dissections.”
The beneficiary said that since she was diagnosed with breast cancer, she immediately received care at the Social Security in Morelos, because in less than a month she underwent a biopsy, then underwent breast surgery to remove the damaged tissue and then received a cycle of four chemotherapy treatments.
The oncologist from IMSS in Morelos, highlighted that the symptoms of cancer are nonspecific, that is, they are silent, because they do not cause pain, so it is important to identify some warning signs such as: fever, abdominal pain, lack of appetite, intense fatigue, sweating, among others.
In this regard, the beneficiary recommended that women carry out self-examination of their breasts frequently and, if something unusual appears, go to the Family Doctor for an evaluation.
“Breast cancer doesn’t give you any warning, it doesn’t hurt, you don’t feel anything, it’s completely silent, you can continue doing your daily activities without knowing that the disease is already in your body and that it’s spreading,” the patient shared.
Finally, Boyas Arroyo reiterated that IMSS Morelos has care from the First Level to identify symptoms of cancer and, if necessary, be referred to the Oncology Service to apply the corresponding treatments such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or remove a possible tumor (resective surgery), if necessary.
