The number of women who develop breast cancer rises in Moldova, with about 1,000 new cases being recorded yearly. Approximately 10% of the women lose the battle with the disease during the first year of its detection owing mainly to late detection. The average age of the persons who develop breast cancer is 50 years, IPN reports, with reference to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection.
A number of 1,013 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in Moldova in 2015, 1,170 in 2016 and 1,118 in 2017, according to the National Cancer Register.
If it is detected on time, breast cancer can be treated. Therefore, doctors recommend the women aged over 20 to examine themselves by monthly palpating the breast and to immediately see the family doctor if anomalies are discovered. The women older than 35 should have a mammography exam at least once in three years, while those older than 40 once in a year so as to make sure they are healthy.
October is the International Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In this connection, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection in concert with the Oncological Institute this month will carry out a series of activities nationwide to inform the population about the disease.
Each Thursday in October, the Oncological Institute will stage schools with patients where mammologists will provide information about the prevention, risk groups, treatment and self-examination methods. During October 8-12, mammologists will offer free consultations in Bălți, Cahul, and Comrat, while during October 15-19 at the Local Medical Associations of Chisinau municipality, in Botanica, Buiucani, Centru, Ciocana and Râșcani, between 9am and 2pm. Seminars and information sessions will be held in education institutions, while the medical and social institutions will stage information and communication campaigns and seminars.
Breast cancer is the most frequent type of cancer worldwide and represents 30% of all cancers in women. Globally, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer each three minutes and one woman dies because of this disease every 14 minutes.
