Around 3,000 to 3,500 new cases of breast cancer are being detected in Sri Lanka every year. The annual detection shows an increase, Consultant Oncologists attached to the National Cancer Control Programme said.
The upward trend has been noticed in Sri Lanka for the last two-and-a-half decades.
According to the latest findings, breast cancer has become the most common cancer among Sri Lankan women, while thyroid cancer is second and cervical cancer is third, Consultant Oncologists said.
They said that 25 percent (one-fourth) of cancers among women are breast cancers. The possibility of saving the lives of breast cancer patients depends on the stage at which the cancer is being detected. Early detection save lives, but unfortunately around 20 percent of cases are detected in the second stage which is late.
Only around 35 to 37 percent of breast cancers are detected at stages one and two, and the rest are detected at later stages. Breast cancer can be cured if detected through a mammogram.
Asian women get breast cancer early, between the ages of 30 to 35.
The BRCA 1 gene is linked to breast cancer. If detected in the first stage, breast cancer can be cured without much cost, complications and patients live long, oncologists said.
(Daily News)