Dr Konrad Kirlew, consultant radiologist at Radiology West, introduced a new breast-CT screening device aimed at reducing the discomfort often associated with traditional mammograms. Unlike the conventional method that requires breast compression, the new device scans the breast in just seven seconds without squeezing, offering a three-dimensional image. This innovation is expected to encourage more women to undergo regular screenings, addressing concerns about physical discomfort and increasing early detection rates.

Fear of losing sex appeal preventing early breast cancer screening, says psychiatrist

Jamaica Gleaner/4 Oct 2024/Christopher Thomas/gleaner Writer 

DR JANINE Morris, consultant psychiatrist at the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St James, believes that a fear of reduced sexual appeal is preventing some women from getting early screening for breast cancer.

Addressing an online breast cancer forum hosted by the Sarah’s Children charity group on Tuesday, Morris said women are afraid to find out if they have the disease or whether they could lose their breasts or other physical attributes, because their self-confidence is traditionally rooted in their physical attractiveness.

“Generally, when it comes to any chronic illness, or any illness at all, it is really fear that paralyses us and makes us say, ‘I don’t really want to know if I have anything’. As a result of that, women tend to avoid screening, because, when we avoid things rather than face our fears, it is more comfortable and, in so doing, you feel as though ‘I don’t need to know, I’m fine, I’m okay’,” said Morris.

“Our physical appearance has a lot to do with our self-esteem and the way we carry ourselves, because we attract men by being sexy. Generally, the first thing you are going to think about is, ‘Am I going to have to lose my breast? If I don’t have any breasts, or if I have implants, how am I going to survive? Am I still going to be able to engage in a sexual relationship with my partner?’the fact is that our outward appearance has a lot to do with our self-esteem,” Morris added. “Also, most commonly with chemotherapy, patients lose their hair, and sometimes people put a lot of emphasis into their hair. So they say, ‘If my hair is cut low, is somebody going to judge me or think badly of me?’”

According to the psychiatrist, another reason why women delay breast cancer screening and treatment is a reduced sense of control over their daily lives if they test positive for the disease, including their authority in their jobs and families.

“Depending on the position that a woman has in society, she may think that she may not be able to play her role in society as well as before. You are mommy to three or four children and they are saying, ‘Mommy, we need this or that,’ and, because of the chemotherapy, you may be very weak,” said Morris. “You may be unable to conduct those roles, and we as women feel good when we can look about our families. When you are now sick and confined to bed, you feel like less of a woman.”

According to the National Health Fund, 7,500 new cancer cases were recorded in Jamaica in 2022, with 1,327 of those cases being breast cancer, more than the 1,208 new breast cancer cases in 2020. Additionally, the World Health Organization recorded 670,000 global deaths from breast cancer in 2022.

NEW APPROACH TO MAMMOGRAMS

In the meantime, Dr Konrad Kirlew, consultant radiologist and managing director of the Radiology West medical facility in Montego Bay, said his establishment’s new Breast-ct screening device is designed to eliminate the physical discomfort that some women associate with the traditional mammogram procedure.

“One of the reasons that some women do not like to have mammograms is that there is some discomfort with mammograms, and that is one of the things that maybe makes the utilisation of screening lower than we might like. The new machine we have, Breast-ct, is a way of imaging the breasts where you lie down on a table and you acquire the images by putting the breast through an opening on the table,” Kirlew explained.

“The woman lies on the table, the X-ray tube is underneath, and it scans the breast for seven seconds, then the woman puts her other breast through the opening, it scans for seven seconds, and it is done. There is no squeezing, and you end up getting a three-dimensional image,” Kirlew added.

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