Page 4760 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 October 2010
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case. She has close a family history of breast cancer, so this was extremely stressful for her, as it was for all her family, as you can imagine. I also have a close friend who, about two years ago, had a double mastectomy. She is recovering well I am glad to say. Again, she had a family history. I am sure I am not the only one who has detected breast lumps and have gone through the necessary further tests and have had that anxious waiting time before a diagnosis has been confirmed or ruled out. I am sure I am not the only one in this place who has lost friends through breast cancer.
Increasing age, family history, inheritance of mutations in certain genes, exposure to natural and administered female hormones, obesity due to poor diet and lack of exercise, and excess alcohol consumption are all associated with breast cancer. Women in the ACT have a high prevalence of other risk factors for breast cancer compared with the Australian population. These include being older at the birth of their first child, a higher proportion of women who have never given birth, a higher socioeconomic status and a higher proportion of alcohol consumption at irregular or risky levels.
What then are the likely outcomes following a diagnosis of breast cancer? If the cancer is limited to the breast, 98 per cent of all patients will survive. Survival is considered as being free of cancer five years after the cancer is detected. This figure excludes those with breast cancer who die from other diseases. If the cancer has spread to the regional lymph nodes, survival rates are 83 per cent. On average, 35 women in the ACT die each year from breast cancer-related illness. In 2002-06, the crude mortality rate was 21 deaths per 100,000 females.
According to the 2010 ACT Chief Health Officer’s report, the most common cause of cancer related deaths in females was breast cancer, at 18.6 per cent of all deaths. Mortality rates have remained stable over time and are similar to rates in the rest of Australia’s population. The risk of dying from breast cancer in the ACT was one in 61 females before the age of 65 years and one in 41 females before the age of 85 years.
Survival from breast cancer has significantly improved. Over the 10 years between 1995 and 2004, survival has increased from 87 per cent in 1995-99 to 92 per cent in 2000-04. The ACT has one of the highest survival rates of all jurisdictions.
Unfortunately there is no proven method of prevention. Women at higher risk, particularly those with very strong family history, can however benefit from hormones, such as Tamoxifen, usually administered over five years. Bilateral prophylactic mastectomy can be considered in high risk women with genome mutations.
The best defence remains in early detection through self-examination and screening. This is why it is so important for women to take this seriously and make sure they undertake the recommended screening. Breast screening every two years is recommended for women aged 50 to 69 years, although it is available to women from 40 years of age. Younger women in high risk groups may also be screened.
Between 1996 and 2006, an average of 55 to 60 per cent of women in the targeted age group—that is 50 to 69 years—participated in the ACT national breast screen
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