Two thirds of the 220 women diagnosed with breast cancer every year manage to overcome the disease and live a normal life, according to Health Minister Joe Cassar.
He said this revealed the success of the government’s multi-pronged approach to the disease, which included breast screening programmes as well as prevention and education campaigns.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, during which extra emphasis is given worldwide to the importance of self-examination, prevention and screening of breasts.
Marking the occasion, Dr Cassar said women should start examining their breasts every month once they turn 20, while those over 30 should be clinically examined at least once a year.
Dr Cassar also encouraged all women to examine themselves regularly and not be afraid of finding something abnormal. “Go and have it checked out,” he said.
He said that so far, through the breast cancer screening programme, 42 women had been diagnosed with the early stages of breast cancer and were now being treated.
The programme, which was launched a year ago, will call around 30,000 women aged between 50 and 60 years for screening over a period of three years, to screen just over 1,000 women every month. The system uses a national database and sends a request, depending on date of birth, to women to attend the centre.
The government plans to reach at least 75 per cent of women aged between 50 to 60. Although it was still too early to say why not all women turned up for the screening, Dr Cassar said there were various factors involved. “We are looking into it at the moment but it could be the failure to turn up is based on fear or because they did a mammogram privately.”
He praised the work and the ongoing education campaign provided by the Health Promotion Department and the support of two voluntary associations – the Action for Breast Cancer Foundation and Europa Donna.
Also, €10,000 was collected thanks to a recent government campaign run together with Helping Hands, a magazine sold on the streets in aid of charities, Dr Cassar said. This money would be used for educational campaigns for breast cancer.
The risks of breast cancer increase with a number of factors including early menstruation (before 12 years old), late menopause (after 55 years), having a child after 30 or not having children at all.
Health Promotion Director Charmaine Gauci explained that living a healthy lifestyle through physical activity and eating more fruit and vegetables were simple but important changes one could make.
This week, information leaflets are being handed out by Breast Cancer Awareness Group members to Debenhams customers until Saturday to spread information about the illness. In addition, the group members will be offering one-on-one sessions in the privacy of customer care rooms to women wanting to know more about it.