Breast cancer is treatable in 2015. Medications and health research have reduced mortality, while the treatments are less invasive than twenty years ago, and today the number of breast cancer survivors has increased. But it is still a serious disease and therefore October is dedicated to is as the Breast Cancer Awareness Month. All women should be informed about the latest facts and learn how to reduce the risk and prevent it.
According to health organizations, about 1.6 million women around the world will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year. Around 400,000 women will die. In the UAE, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women, says the Emirates Cancer Foundation. Within the country many women still don’t have information about the different tools of early detection, while others don’t know whether they are at high risk or when they should get screened. Moreover, most women won’t talk to their doctors about the disease until it’s too late. A 2010 study by Dubai-based Centre for Arab Genomic Studies, found that breast cancer appears in Arab nationals at least a decade earlier than women in the Western societies.
Generally, there are several common myths about breast cancer which are unproven and here are some of them.
Only older women can develop breast cancer – The truth is that the risk increases with age. But it’s also true that all women, at all ages are at risk of developing it.
Only women with a family history of breast cancer can get the disease – This was considered a fact two or three decades ago, but today, it has become clear that most women with breast cancer have no family history of the disease. But you have an elevated risk if your mother, sister or daughter has breast cancer.
Only women with several risk factors can develop the disease – Surprisingly, most women with breast cancer have no risk factors. All women are at risk.
