Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Early detection imperative

Early detection imperative
INTAN MAIZURA AHMAD KAMAL

Breast cancer patients stand the best chance for a cure with early detection, Dr Azlina Firzah Abdul Aziz tells INTAN MAIZURA AHMAD KAMAL

HER eyes tear as she talks about people dearest to her who have breast cancer. Although she deals with cancer patients everyday, Dr Azlina Firzah Abdul Aziz still finds it a little too much to bear to have a relative suffer the same fate.

“It’s not easy,” whispers the consultant breast surgeon at the Breast Care Centre in Pantai Hospital, KL, dabbing the corners of her eyes. “It’s truly a grounding effect when you see what they have to go through.”

What frustrates Azlina is that breast cancer has the best chances for a cure, yet there are still people who leave it too late. “They don’t understand the importance of early detection,” she says with a sigh. “The level of awareness is admittedly much better than say, 10 years ago, but we still have women coming in at stage 4, when the cancer has spread to other organs.”

Of the total number of female cancer patients in the country, about 30 per cent have breast cancer, reveals the 44-year-old mother of three.

The highest incidence is in Chinese women, particularly those in their 40s and 50s. This is actually a younger age group. For Caucasian women, for whom breast cancer is a post-menopausal disease.

“If I had my way, I’d have schoolgirls charting their menstruation and examining their breasts as soon as they hit puberty,” says Azlina, who was previously attached to Selayang Hospital. “I’ve had patients below 15 years old with benign (non-cancerous tumours). Although breast cancer rarely happens in those below 20, if they don’t know how to check their breasts, they won’t know about the changes that can happen.”

Early detection saves lives, stresses Azlina. “If they come to us when the lump is below 2cm, stage 1, the chance of survival is almost 100 per cent. When you’re already at stage 4, there’s no cure. The most you can do is prolong survival time.”

She adds: “We can give chemotherapy and drugs to kill the cancer cells but these are very expensive. Even in government hospitals, they’re limited. If you go for chemo, your survival period may run from one to four years. But this depends on where the cancer has spread to.

“If it involves the liver and it’s damaged, it’s tough. If it spreads to the brain, it’s worse.”

What advice does she have for those living with someone with cancer?

“Get help,” she says. “Don’t try to cope alone. There are many NGOs like Hospice Malaysia, which can assist. They don’t charge for their services and sometimes they’d even loan equipment. Even if somebody is in stage 4, you can make it comfortable for them.”

For breast cancer survivors, it’s important they make the time to join support groups, she adds. “There are many things they can learn to help improve their life. You can cope better if you know how. Don’t suffer in silence.”