The Ministry of Health recommends carrying out the mammogram as a tracking method for the breast cancer that is, routine examination, for women without signs and symptoms in the age group from 50 to 69 years, every two years.
According to the ministry, the National Cancer Institute and the Brazilian Society of Mastology, the Breast self-examination is no longer a recommended technique to women for disease screening. The guidance is based on several studies on the subject that have shown low effectiveness and possible harm associated with this practice.
However, self-examination is still considered by many women to be the main way to detect breast tumors early. This is what a survey carried out by the Instituto Inteligência em Pesquisa e Consultoria (Ipec) with 1,397 women, at the request of Pfizer, points out. Residents of the city of São Paulo and the metropolitan regions of Belém, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and the Federal District, aged 20 years or older, were interviewed.
According to the Brazilian Society of Mastology (SBM), self-examination is indicated as self-knowledge in relation to one’s own body, but it should not replace the exams performed or prescribed by the doctor, since many lesions, even small, are not palpable. According to the Ipec survey, 64% of the women consulted said they believed that the procedure would be the main means of diagnosing breast cancer at its early stage.
In addition to disagreements about the role of self-examination, most of the women interviewed by the survey also demonstrate that they are unaware of the medical recommendations for performing a mammogram. The exam can reveal possible lesions in the breasts, especially in postmenopausal women, in addition to detecting tumors smaller than 1 cm.
For 54% of the women who responded to the survey, it is not clear whether they need to undergo the procedure if other tests, such as breast ultrasound, do not indicate changes: 38% said they believe that mammography should only be performed in case of suspicious findings in other tests. , while 16% did not know how to give an opinion.
About 51% of participants are also unaware of the regularity of the exam. Already 30% of the interviewees are convinced that, after a first exam with normal results, the woman would be free to perform only the self-examination at home, while 21% of the sample said they did not know what would be the correct orientation.
“By palpating and finding nothing, a woman may believe that her breasts are healthy and fail to perform routine assessments that would detect a possible tumor early. When the disease is diagnosed at an early stage, it is easier to treat, which improves the prognosis and contributes to the reduction of mortality”, says the medical director of Pfizer Brazil, Adriana Ribeiro.
Currently, breast tumors are the leading cause of cancer death among women. On another front, the survey also shows that 33% of women
heard do not have adequate information about the relationship between age and breast cancer: 10% know nothing or prefer not to give an opinion on this matter, while 8% believe that those aged 40 years or younger do not need to worry about the disease and 13% are convinced that women should start screening tests only when they enter menopause.
Impacts of the pandemic
Survey data indicate that the context of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact women’s health care.
When asked about the breast exams performed in the last 18 months, 48% of the survey participants answered that they did not perform procedures with medical follow-up: 21% resorted to self-examination and 27% did not undergo any evaluation during this period.
Considering the total sample, only 34% of the respondents claim to have had a mammogram in the last 18 months, a number that drops to 26% in both the Federal District and Belém. When it comes to general health care, only 17% of women surveyed by IPEC say that, during the pandemic, they performed their routine exams with the same usual frequency they had before Covid-19. In Belém, this percentage fluctuates negatively to 11%. Furthermore,
23% of those interviewed in this region claim to have resumed their routine of consultations and exams just this year.
The new survey also points out that a considerable percentage of women have not resumed their medical consultations and exams since the pandemic began: this is the situation of 7% of the participants, but the rate reaches 9% in Porto Alegre and Recife. .
“We have been discussing taking people away from their routine medical care since the beginning of the pandemic. After almost three years, this situation persists in some groups, which is very worrying, because it may mean that fewer tumors are being identified early”, says Adriana.
Heredity and risk factors
The research shows that the lack of knowledge about breast cancer among the women interviewed goes beyond the lack of information about the proper conduct for early detection. Most ignore the relationship between lifestyle and disease: 58% of women do not associate excess weight as a risk factor, while 74% do not identify the relationship with alcohol consumption.
On the other hand, genetic inheritance is the factor most mentioned by the interviewees when asked about the causes of breast cancer: 82% are convinced that the existence of other cases of the tumor in the family would be the main reason for the development of the disease.
“We are talking about a multifactorial disease, in which lifestyle habits and even social behaviors, such as the reduction in the number of children, are considered risk factors”, says the medical director of Pfizer.
Survey participants are unaware, for example, of the relationship between behaviors associated with breast cancer: only 17% are aware that not having biological children increases the risk for the disease and many ignore the protective effect of breastfeeding, as is the case with 55% of respondents from Porto Alegre and 54% from São Paulo.
Some myths related to the theme are strong in the population studied. Among younger women, some recurring fake news on the subject appears: in the range that covers respondents aged 20 to 29, for example, 47% are not convinced that the type of bra used does not impact the risk of having breast cancer : 11% say they believe that models with bulges increase this risk and 36% do not know how to give an opinion on the matter.
Considering all age groups, in both Porto Alegre and Belém, only 59% of the interviewees are aware that the relationship with this item of clothing is false.
(With information from Fabricio Julião, from CNN Brasil Business)
Source: CNN Brasil
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