BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that there is an increase in the number of women within the Caribbean region who have been diagnosed with or died because of breast cancer.
According to a WHO release, some 1.7 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012; an increase of 20 percent since 2008, whilst the mortality rate also rose some 14 percent over that time period with some 522 000 deaths alone last year.
It also stated that breast cancer rates remain highest in more developed regions and that mortality is relatively higher in the Caribbean and other developing countries due to a lack of early detection and access to treatment facilities.
A research by SKNVibes revealed that over the years, breast cancer rate in St. Kitts and Nevis has been very low and that up to 2011 the Federation has been ranked number one on the list of countries with the lowest mortality rate; 10 or 2.2 percent.
In his explanation as to the reason why the disease is affecting women in less developed countries, head of the International Agency for Research and Cancer (IARC) Section of Cancer Information, David Forman said: “A shift in lifestyles is causing an increase in incidence, and partly because clinical advances to combat the disease are not reaching women living in these regions.”
Based on Forman’s explanation, the WHO has called for greater attention to prevention and control measures to offset lifestyle changes.
Noting his agency’s perspective on cancer control in less developed countries, IARC’s Director Christopher Wild said: “An urgent need in cancer control today is to develop effective and affordable approaches to the early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of breast cancer among women living in less developed countries.”
He noted that it is a way of bringing the rates of instances and mortality in line with progress made in more developed parts of the world.
The IARC informed that trend extends to all types of cancer, with nearly 57 percent of instances and 65 percent of deaths last year reported in less developed countries; a tendency which is expected to further increase by 2025.
The release also revealed that the most common causes of cancer death were lung, liver and stomach cancers.
Some of the signs and symptoms of breast cancer are breasts that look and feel different, and it is important for women to lookout for changes that are unusual to them.
Common signs of breast cancer include swelling or painless lumps in breast tissue, often towards the nipple; thickening, puckering or dimpling of the skin; nipples that are tender, turned in or producing discharge; and swelling underneath the armpits.
