www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

Let's fight breast cancer throughout the year

Updated: 2017-10-30 07:43

By Nicole Garbellini(HK Edition)

  Print Mail Large Medium  Small 分享按鈕 0

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, marking in shades of pink its loud, clear and important message that breast cancer must be fought with personal vigilance and persistent effort on self-examination for early detection. Many events in town are held this month by charities and institutions to save women, improve the lives of those afflicted by the disease and spread the word about this condition that one day, hopefully, will be eradicated.

The number of new patients dealing with the illness has risen steadily since 1983, primarily because better diagnostic techniques have been available over the decades; the population has also expanded.

According to the Hong Kong Breast Cancer Foundation, breast cancer has become the most common cancer affecting women in Hong Kong over the past 20 years. Since 1993, annual diagnoses have almost tripled from 1,152 to 3,868 in 2014. On average, about 10 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every day and lifetime breast cancer risk is one in 16. In 2014, 57 percent of the women diagnosed with breast cancer were aged 40 to 59. The older the person, the higher the risk, although young people are of course not immune: indeed, the youngest case concerned a 20-year-old woman. Nowadays, more and more women find themselves dealing with this illness in their 30s.

Let's fight breast cancer throughout the year

As reported by this newspaper on September 15, women aged 35 or younger account for 10 to 15 percent of all breast cancer patients. On the Chinese mainland, the numbers are equally alarming; in 2015, 260,000 new breast cancer cases were reported in women of different age groups. Professor Shao Zhimin at Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center confirmed there are several reasons for this increase. These include changes in lifestyle, living conditions, diets and urbanization. But new medical technology, early detection and enhanced treatment can contribute to recovery, with early detection being the key to successful treatment. The professor recommended that women aged 25 and older should have regular breast-cancer screenings. Women older than 40, on the other hand, should have routine mammograms to detect any anomalies and keep everything under control. While all this makes perfect sense, if we reflect on the reality in Hong Kong I cannot help but think that this is just not feasible for everyone.

Thus doctors advise women to self-check on a regular basis, and if a problem is suspected, it is imperative to follow this up with a professional checkup and ultrasound. If push comes to shove, a biopsy must be ordered and, depending on the gravity of the problem, other follow-ups and exams must ensue.

It is understandable that medical consultations and treatment can be costly but basic screening should rather count as a preventative action and should be free, or at least more affordable. Charities in Hong Kong, despite relying on donations and government aid, still charge a remarkable amount of money for ultrasound and biopsies when offering medical assistance. Most low-income households probably cannot afford them. Hong Kong should follow the model that is available in countries such as Italy and the United Kingdom, where basic screening is provided for approximately 10 euros ($12). Not only that: every year, every female citizen receives a reminder from the local council to be checked for both breast and cervical cancer. Pap smears should also be available at low cost if not free. Whilst cervical cancer might be less prevalent than breast cancer, the end result is just as devastating for the individual.

Breast cancer is also asymptomatic. It is considered to be a silent killer, as is cervical cancer. If a person is not in pain, it is unlikely that she will seek medical advice at a high cost just for a check. But a woman should not be put in a position where she has to consider whether she could afford basic screening or not. She should just be able to do it, regardless of her financial situation.

A functioning society exists when, among other things, its health care system is comprehensive, sustainable, and where the particularly vulnerable can receive added support from the government. Given our bulging financial reserves, there is no reason why Hong Kong cannot provide this vital medical safety net for all women in our society.

Finally, while it maybe a clever publicity strategy to designate October as cancer awareness month, it might be more effective for all stakeholders to try to raise the public awareness of this silent killer throughout the year since it obviously does not strike only during the "pink season" which marks October as cancer awareness month.

(HK Edition 10/30/2017 page10)

主站蜘蛛池模板: 一 级 黄 色 片生活片 | 成年免费大片黄在线观看一 | 久久99热只有视精品6国产 | 夜夜爽影院| gdcm01果冻传媒| 国产精品久久久久国产精品 | 亚洲精品国产专区一区 | 国产精品变态重口在线 | 国产精品欧美激情在线播放 | 麻豆日韩 | 亚洲精品一区二区三区五区 | 国产精品免费一区二区区 | 香蕉久久成人网 | 亚洲欧美中文在线观看4 | 久久午夜鲁丝片午夜精品 | 免费黄色一级网站 | 99视频在线精品免费 | 日本加勒比一区 | 一级毛片真人不卡免费播 | 欧美一区二区三区不卡 | 国产黄色网 | 久久久精品免费视频 | 久久93精品国产91久久综合 | 国产精品一 | 成人看片黄a在线观看 | 在线观看国产一区二区三区 | 精品九九久久国内精品 | 亚洲成aⅴ人在线观看 | 国产成人教育视频在线观看 | 日本一级毛片高清免费观看视频 | 美女视频永久黄网站在线观看 | 日本一级毛片高清免费观看视频 | 国产成人三级经典中文 | 亚洲精品国产综合一线久久 | 久久精品a亚洲国产v高清不卡 | 亚洲一区二区免费看 | 国产免费视屏 | 国产亚洲精品午夜高清影院 | 国产成人精品久久一区二区小说 | 成人免费在线网站 | 国产91精品一区二区视色 |