Breast cancer cases rising

WESTERN BUREAU:

Consultant surgeon Dr Delroy Fray, the clinical coordinator at the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) is alarmed at the rise in the number of breast cancer diagnoses since 2021, amid an increase in the number of young women being afflicted over the past 40 years.

Addressing an online breast cancer forum on Tuesday, which was hosted by the Sarah’s Children charity group, Fray said the issue partly stems from the fear that some women have of getting breast cancer screening, because of long-held myths that mammograms contribute to cancer.

“About two or three years ago, the incidents of breast cancer in Jamaica represented about 43 women per 100,000 of the population, with a lifetime risk factor of one in every 12 women getting breast cancer,” said Fray. “Now I have seen new data where it says 50.2 per 100,000 of the population, and what scares me as a doctor is that, when I was an intern in 1985, the patients I saw with breast cancer were in their early 50s going up, but now most of the patients I am seeing are in their early 30s or between 35 and 40.

“In spite of all the education that we embark upon during Breast Cancer Awareness Month [celebrated annually in October], we are seeing patients present late to us, and that is very concerning. What I have found is that there are a lot of myths here in Jamaica concerning breast cancer. A lot of women do not want to do mammography, because they say that, once they do mammography, it squeezes the breast and it predisposes them to cancer. But there is no evidence that supports that,” said Fray.

Fray also pointed out that, in several of the breast cancer cases that he has diagnosed between January and September this year, the women expressed fears of dying from chemotherapy and radiation therapy as the reason they did not do earlier screening.

“From the beginning of the year right up to the end of September, I diagnosed 19 patients who came to my office to be seen for this problem. Of those 19 patients, only five of them had early disease where you could intervene right away, but the other 14 patients required chemotherapy before treatment,” said Fray.

“I asked those 14 patients, ‘Why did you present so late?’ Almost every one of these patients told me, ‘Dr Fray, I know somebody who got chemotherapy and radiation therapy and soon after they died’. That is one myth out there that is not correct,” Fray added.

In the meantime, Dr Konrad Kirlew, consultant radiologist and managing director of the Radiology West facility in Montego Bay, said more women should get screened for breast cancer outside of October.

“I do not think enough Jamaican women screen for breast cancer. There are many reasons for that, some of it being the myths and fears they have, while some of it is access, whether some women can afford it or not, or having facilities that can provide the service to the general public and so forth,” said Kirlew. “In October, we are very busy and we do get a good turnout because women see this as a good time and a good reminder to focus on their breast health, and then the rest of the year we are not that busy. I would love to see more women actively engaged in screening.”

According to the National Health Fund, there were 7,500 new cancer cases recorded in Jamaica in 2022, with 1,327 of those cases being breast cancer. Additionally, the World Health Organization recorded 670,000 global deaths from breast cancer in 2022, with the disease being the most common cancer in women in 157 out of 185 countries that year.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com