October Rose recalls the need to be screened, an action all the more important during this period of crisis where the accumulated delays lead to a higher risk of advanced cancer in women.
A slowdown in screening due to Covid-19
The health context has led to a slowdown in consultations and an end to organized screening. The RoseUp association stated in a press release that ” this year, the Covid-19 epidemic will discourage many French women from carrying out their mammography exam, considered “secondary”. Oncologists are alarmed: tumors not detected in time will cause thousands more deaths “. The National Cancer League agrees and has shared its concern. The president of this organization Axel Kahn has also proclaimed: ” Because of CoV-2, delays in diagnosing and starting treatment for breast cancer are piling up, causing women to lose chances “. He estimates that 30,000 cancers will go undiagnosed. As a reminder, 1 in 8 women is at risk of developing breast cancer. In France, there are 56,000 cancers detected and 12,000 women die from it each year, making breast cancer the main cause of death in women. Philippe Nakpane, director of the Public Health pole of the CPAM in Pau, reveals that last year, 60% of women aged 50 to 74 were screened in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, while at the end of confinement, only 50% have been screened: ” During the first wave of the epidemic, screening and treatment operations were postponed because the coronavirus was on everyone’s mind. But everything resumed under the same conditions as before and it is very important to remind women to come back, or come, to be tested! “
Early detection saves lives
A delay in diagnosis is not without consequences: ” There are risks of aggravation of the disease if one does not distinguish cancers at an early stage. If we go from breast cancer without lymph node involvement diagnosed in February, to a diagnosis four months later, it can be metastatic, therefore more complicated to be treated. »Explains Anthony Gonçalves, oncologist at the Paoli-Calmettes Institute (IPC) in Marseille. The director of the RoseUP association Céline Lis-Raoux maintains that “ six months or a year late in diagnosis for aggressive cancer, that can change everything »And encourages women to get tested. Early detection saves thousands of women. ” If treated early enough, 9 out of 10 breast cancer patients will recover »Warns Philippe Nakpane. As a reminder, self-palpation can be done regularly. Applications exist to guide your practice. Mammography should be done every 2 years, starting at age 50. Find all the information on breast cancer in our Pink October file.
