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The WHO set the goal of saving 2.5 million lives sick with breast cancer by the year 2040.
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According to the IMSS, timely detection enables a survival of more than 5 years in the majority of patients with breast cancer.
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Every year 2.3 million new cases of breast cancer are detected worldwide, according to the WHO.
The World Health Organization (WHO) published this Friday a new ‘Framework for the Global Initiative against Breast Cancer’, which provides a roadmap to reach the goal of saving 2.5 million lives from this disease by 2040.
The document, presented one day before World Cancer Day, which falls on Saturday, February 4, recommends that countries focus on programs for the early detection of breast cancer so that at least 60% of the cases of this disease are diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
They also urge the diagnosis of breast cancer within 60 days of its initial presentation, as this can improve outcomes. Treatment should be started within three months of first presentation. Finally, they are also committed to controlling breast cancer so that at least 80% of patients complete the recommended treatment.
According to the WHO document, There are more than 2.3 million cases of breast cancer each year, making it the most common cancer among adults. In 95% of countries, breast cancer is the first or second leading cause of female cancer death.
However, survival from breast cancer is highly uneven between countries, and within countries, almost 80% of deaths from breast and cervical cancer occur in low- and middle-income countries.
What is the treatment for breast cancer?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC of the United States), breast cancer is treated in several ways. This depends on the type of breast cancer and the degree of spread. People with breast cancer often receive more than one type of treatment.
- Surgery: An operation in which doctors cut out the cancerous tissue.
- Chemotherapy: Special drugs are used to shrink or kill cancer cells. These drugs can be pills you take or drugs injected into your veins, or sometimes both.
- Hormone therapy: Stops cancer cells from getting the hormones they need to grow.
- Biological therapy: Works with your body’s immune system to help it fight cancer cells or control side effects caused by other cancer treatments. Side effects are the way your body reacts to medicines or other treatments.
- Radiation therapy: High-energy rays (similar to X-rays) are used to kill cancer cells.
Doctors from different specialties usually work together to treat breast cancer. Surgeons are doctors who do operations. Oncologists are doctors who treat cancer with drugs. Radiation oncologists are doctors who treat cancer with radiation.
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