Researchers at Oxford University report that more than 300,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Europe each year, with more than 100,000 dying of the disease. According to research carried out by Cancer Research UK in 2008, while there are fewer cases of breast cancer in Poland than, for example, in France or Sweden, the mortality rate is much higher in our country compared to the number of cases.

Of those suffering from breast cancer, 23 per cent of Swedish women will die, in Belgium 20 per cent, while in Poland it will be 30 per cent. There is only one conclusion: Polish women are not getting themselves examined. - Despite the fact that most of them are aware of the risk, they avoid examinations that could actually save their lives. Regular surveys conducted by various institutions show that the number of incidences of this type of cancer is constantly increasing," says Aleksandra Szczęśniak-Chmielecka, MD, gynaecologist at the Medical Prestige Clinic in Poznań.

On the other hand, it is well known that early detection of breast cancer significantly reduces the risk of death caused by this cancer. The American Cancer Society reports that, by starting therapy in the first stages, cancer is cured in approximately 80 to 100 per cent of patients, while only 20 per cent survive therapy started in the fourth stage.

A game of roulette

Polish women are not getting tested - this is a fact. Despite many measures taken by the Ministry of Health, medical facilities or NGOs, women's attitudes are not changing. A survey conducted by Millward Brown SG/KRC shows that 15 per cent of women over 55 have never had a mammogram. In contrast, the risk of breast cancer increases with age. According to the American Cancer Society, 1 in 1,760 women will develop breast cancer before the age of 20, 1 in 69 before the age of 40 and 1 in 29 before the age of 60. It is estimated that breast cancer is one of the most common 'killers' of women between the ages of 35 and 54.

photo: panthermedia

Medical US or mammography?

Both examinations have the same purpose: to detect changes in the breasts. So how do they differ? - Ultrasound (Medical US) is mainly aimed at younger women. At this stage, the breasts are made up of thick glandular tissue, in which changes are more effectively detected by ultrasound, says Dr Szczęśniak-Chmielecka. This examination also allows solid nodules to be distinguished from fluid-filled lesions (e.g. cysts), which mammography does not allow. The first Medical US examination should be performed as early as the age of 20 and repeated every three years. After the age of 40, mammographic examinations should be added to Medical US.

At this age, glandular tissue is replaced to a greater extent by rarer adipose tissue, so mammographic examination gives good results. This examination detects 85 to 90 per cent of cancerous lesions. Mammography will show even lesions of a few millimetres in size and, unlike Medical US, it also images microcalcifications, which can signal the development of cancer. As mammography is a radiological examination, it requires a referral from a doctor. Medical US and mammography are examinations that complement each other.