General Surgery Specialist Prof. Dr. Orhan Demircan stated that women should start checking themselves against breast cancer after the age of 20 and said, “They should definitely have regular mammography after the age of 40.”
As October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a talk titled 'True Known Falsehoods in Breast Cancer' was held. Moderated by Seral Çelik, Board Member of Pink Traces Women's Cancers Association, the expert guests of the conversation, Acıbadem Adana Hospital doctors Prof. Dr. Orhan Demircan and Prof. Dr. Sinan Yavuz, gave the audience information about what should be done for early diagnosis. Nevin Dinçer, who was diagnosed with breast cancer 5 years ago, talked about her experience with the disease. Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar and his wife Nuray Karalar also attended the awareness talk.
“Mammography should be done once a year after the age of 40”
General Surgery Specialist Prof. Dr. Orhan Demircan, who drew attention to the 'common misconceptions' about breast cancer in the interview, stated that the first step against breast cancer is to have regular screening tests and said the following:
“Breast cancer is a common type of cancer. One in every 8 women meets this disease. Therefore, it is very important to have regular screenings. Screenings enable early diagnosis of breast cancer. The treatment success of breast cancer diagnosed early is very high. However, there are many misconceptions in society. For example, if I have a mammogram, I will receive a lot of radiation. However, the amount of radiation received is the same as the radiation received during a flight to the USA. If I have a cancerous mass in my breast, there are many misconceptions such as that mammography will cause this mass to spread throughout the body. These are false information that distracts from screening tests. Information should be learned from the right sources.”
Prof. Dr. Demircan said that regular breast self-checks play an important role in the diagnosis of breast cancer and added, “Breast self-checks performed by women every month allow women to get to know their bodies well. Thus, they can notice a difference they see in the breast more quickly. Self-checking should start after the age of 20. After the age of 40, mammography should be done regularly. Mammography is a screening method that detects even a very small focus early. Thus, the cancer focus is detected before it has spread and great success is achieved in its treatment.”
“Hereditary cancer types account for only 10 percent of all breast cancers”
Stating that there are precautions to be taken against breast cancer, but it is not possible to be protected one hundred percent, Medical Oncology Specialist Prof. Dr. Sinan Yavuz said, “There is no magic formula that will protect us one hundred percent against breast cancer. We can take some measures to reduce the risk of breast cancer such as healthy eating and exercise.”
Stating that breast cancer is a hereditary disease, Prof. Dr. Sinan Yavuz said, “Sometimes genes passed down through the family can cause this disease. But this rate is only 10-15 percent among all breast cancers. In other words, women who have never had breast cancer in their family have a very high rate of developing this disease. For this reason, women should not think that there is no breast cancer in my family, nothing will happen if I delay my screenings.”
Pointing out that some genes that play a role in the formation of breast cancer are known, Prof. Dr. Yavuz also stated that these genes can be detected. Pointing out that the treatment of cancer should be done with a multidisciplinary approach, Prof. Dr. Yavuz said, “The treatment of cancer requires many specialists such as pathology, radiology, general surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology to work together. These specialists determine the best method for the patient at every stage from diagnosis to treatment. Thus, the success of the treatment and the patient's quality of life are increased. Today, the number of breast centers working with this type of multidisciplinary approach is increasing.”
“I felt a mass in my hand while checking myself”
In 2019, Nevin Dinçer, who stated that a mass came to his hand while self-examining himself, described his experience of the disease as follows:
“I went to Istanbul with my husband. I noticed a lump in my breast during a shower. I immediately went to the doctor with my husband, and after examinations, mammography and biopsy, it was determined that I had breast cancer. I wanted to be treated in Adana, my hometown. We went back again. We met our professors and they explained this process so well that I adapted to it and didn't see it as a big problem. I thought, “I will get over it, I will recover.” And I did. I was retired from the bank and now I am the mukhtar of Kurtuluş neighborhood. I tell women not to be afraid, do not neglect your controls, and if you get sick, never lose hope.”
“Knowledge is the greatest power”
Stating that they set out 10 years ago as an association to raise social awareness about breast and gynecological cancers and to make companionship with women struggling with these diseases, Seral Çelik, Member of the Board of Directors of the Pink Traces (PI) Women's Cancers Association, told the audience that knowledge is the greatest power:
“Many women meet breast cancer. The number of young breast cancer patients in our country is also high. Knowledge is the greatest power against these diseases. We know that the stories of many women in our association who have experienced the disease started with a relative's warning “Have you had a mammogram?” or reading an article or watching a video about breast cancer. As an association, we try to draw attention to early diagnosis by informing the whole society, male or female, about these diseases together with our experts. Because a disease affects not only the patient, but also his/her family, friends and many people around him/her. Relatives also try to do their best for the patients. Therefore, informing the whole society plays a very important role both in early diagnosis and in combating these diseases.”
After the talk, Nuray Karalar, wife of Adana Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Zeydan Karalar, thanked all the participants and gave flowers to the speakers.
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