Early diagnosis of cancer greatly increases chances of survival and promises a better quality of life. Cancer diagnosed at an early stage is more likely to be treated successfully. Cancer incidence is increasing in the developing world mainly due to the increase in life expectancy but also due to increased urbanisation and adoption of certain lifestyles that can increase the risks for cancer.

More than 90 per cent of women diagnosed with breast cancer at an early stage survive the disease five years afterwards compared to about 15 per cent of women diagnosed with the most advanced stage of the disease (Cancer Research UK).

There are several possible reasons leading to a late diagnosis. The most common cause is the low awareness of cancer signs by the individual, meaning that the patient does not approach their healthcare providers as soon as they become suspicious, thus delaying diagnosis. Additionally, some people are too worried to approach a healthcare provider with certain symptoms because of what the doctor might find and diagnose them with.

There are two major groups of activities that can play an important role in increasing the early detection of cancer. These are mainly education to promote early diagnosis and referral for suspicious symptoms and signs of cancer and screening for asymptomatic (before any noticeable symptoms appear) signs of cancer.

Doing regular breast self-exams can help the individual to be familiar with how their breasts look and feel

Encouraging individuals to learn about how to recognise the possible warning signs of cancer is the first important step leading to an early diagnosis. The individual should be made aware of possible warning signs, for example, lumps, abnormal bleeding, sores that fail to heal and chronic hoarseness. Early diagnosis of cancer plays a major impact in several cancers, including cancers of the breast, mouth, cervix, colon and rectum, lung, larynx and skin. An important resource is the European Code Against Cancer. This code can be accessed from https://cancer-code-europe.iarc.fr/index.php/en/.

Adult women of all ages are encouraged to perform breast self-examinations in the comfort of their own home. Forty per cent of diagnosed breast cancers are detected by women who approach their healthcare provider after feeling or noticing something different in their breasts (John Hopkins Breast Centre).

While mammograms can help detect breast cancer before one can feel a lump, doing regular breast self-exams can help the individual to be familiar with how their breasts look and feel and can notice if there are any early changes. However, education by itself is not enough when it comes to early diagnosis of cancer and individuals should always accept invitations sent to them to participate in organised cancer screening programmes.

Screening for cancer takes place when simple tests are performed on healthy individuals to search for any possible signs of early stages of cancer even before (often much before) there are any demonstrable symptoms. There are two distinct types of screening methods. These are mainly organised population-based screening programmes and opportunistic case-finding tests.

The latter usually happens when an individual goes to see their healthcare provider for reasons that may be unrelated to the disease and cancer screening tests offered. On the other hand, organised population-based cancer screening programmes invite members within set population age and gender groups to attend screening tests on a regular time basis.

Organised population-based cancer screening programmes for breast cancer have been shown to be effective in reducing the incidence or improving the prognosis of three common cancers mainly cervical, breast and colon. In Malta, the national screening programme for breast cancer, introduced in 2009, is currently inviting women aged between 50 and 67 years to attend screening mammography every two to three years.

Let’s all keep an open mind, make sure we know our bodies well and accept screening invitations. ‘Face your fear’ is the slogan for this year’s Pink October Campaign. We are stronger than fear. Let’s tackle cancer together because together we can beat it.

Dr Elaine Lautier is a public health medicine specialist trainee, while Dr Miriam Dalmas is consultant, public health medicine.