According to an overseas paper published earlier this year in the Journal of Cancer for Clinicians, about 19.3 million cancer patients occurred worldwide last year. The most commonly diagnosed cancers were breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, and stomach cancer. In particular, breast cancer is 11.7% of all cancer cases, surpassing lung cancer (11.4%), which was the number one incidence for 20 years.
As of 2018, there were 23,000 new cases of breast cancer patients in Korea per year. Over the past 10 years, it has increased sharply by about twice as much. The factors that increase breast cancer incidence have not been accurately identified. However, it is estimated that the total duration of estrogen exposure increased due to early menarche, late menopause, late marriage and lower fertility rates, and obesity due to westernized diets of high fat and high calories.
Breast cancer is characterized by no symptoms in the early stages. As the disease progresses, the most common symptom is a painless lump. The lump can be touched not only in the breasts, but also in the armpits. If the cancer progresses severely, the skin of the breast is pulled into the inside, causing a dent or a nipple to be depressed. In order to prevent mastectomy and improve the quality of life through appropriate treatment, it is important to detect it as early as possible.
Professor Moon Hyung-gon of Surgery at Seoul National University Hospital said, “If breast cancer is detected early, the treatment results are positive and the survival rate is higher than other cancers.” It shows a high survival rate of more than %, but the survival rate is as low as 34% in stage 4 patients with systemic metastasis.”
Methods for diagnosing breast cancer include self-examination, clinical examination, and imaging tests (breastography, breast ultrasound). In the current country, for early detection of breast cancer and reduction of mortality ▲ Breast cancer screening using mammography (mammography) for asymptomatic women aged 40 to 69 should be performed every two years ▲ asymptomatic women aged 70 or older should be determined after consulting a clinician. Is presented as a recommendation for examination.
However, mammography is not recommended for young women or women of childbearing age, in which radiation exposure is inevitable. Considering the fact that breast ultrasound is also not recommended in the National Cancer Screening Guidelines, it is pointed out that the range of diagnostic options available to women of various ages is narrow.
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