'I didn't think it would happen to me': Women in their 30s facing breast cancer
SINGAPORE: An avid cyclist who besides runs and does yoga regularly, one 34-year-old, who only wanted to exist known as Su Lin, was the flick of wellness when she first discovered a lump in her left breast in May.
Young and healthy, cancer was the last thing on her mind.
"I didn't call up information technology was serious, because I knew of many friends who had cysts removed and it wasn't serious. So I held it off for a while, until I was free enough to go and come across a doctor," said the master school teacher.
In late June, later on numerous tests and scans, came a diagnosis she never expected to hear.
She had phase 1 breast cancer.
"I couldn't cry also because I was so shocked," Su Lin said.
"I didn't think that information technology would happen to me because I always thought that cancer was something that would but happen at an older age," she said, adding that she has no family history of cancer.
It took her almost four days to fully procedure the news and tell her family unit, who are in Kuala Lumpur.
"They were shocked only they were also beingness really strong for me," she said.
"Everything was done via phone or via video calls, and then in that location was no physical contact like hugs. But even though it was bad, I withal felt strong support from them ... and then that's when I felt like 'I can do this'," she said.
With a renewed spirit of promise, Su Lin focused on getting handling and recovering quickly.
In July, she underwent lumpectomy surgery to remove the affected office of her breast and is currently going through chemotherapy.
In telling her story, Su Lin hopes to raise sensation about breast cancer, and the importance of regular wellness screenings.
"Regardless of age, never accept things for granted. Fifty-fifty for myself, I didn't practice regular cheque-ups merely it'due south so important to pay attention to your torso, because we only have 1 body and one life," she said. "So we have to take intendance of it and exist more mindful."
WHEN THE YOUNG Get CANCER
Su Lin was ane of the patients highlighted by the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) in conjunction with Chest Cancer Awareness Month, an annual entrada held in October to enhance awareness about the bear upon of chest cancer.
According to the Singapore Cancer Registry, ii,000 women are diagnosed with chest cancer each year. Between 2022 and 2017, 16.iii per cent of female breast cancer patients were diagnosed below the historic period of xl.
Doctors CNA spoke to said incidences of breast cancer in immature women also appear to be increasing, which could be due to rise affluence and increasing levels of stress.
Dr Radhika Lakshmanan, a consultant chest and full general surgeon, said she has seen a larger percentage of young chest cancer patients over the last decade.
Her clinic, which sees nigh 50 new breast cancer patients each year, has also observed a disproportionately higher number of women beneath the age of 40, who make upwards about 30 per cent of the dispensary'southward new cases.
"One of the postulations is that women are having their firstborn at a later age," she said.
Studies suggest that women who become pregnant and have children at an early age have a decreased adventure of developing breast cancer in subsequently life. Even so, any pregnancy subsequently age 35 may increase the risk of breast cancer.
The handling approach for young chest cancer patients may as well be more complicated compared to older patients, said Dr Lakshmanan.
This is because factors such as family planning must be taken into consideration when discussing or initiating the treatment regime, she said.
"Chemotherapy affects fertility in a negative style and so earlier commencing handling, they will be advised to consult a gynaecologist to consider the options of cryopreservation or embryo preservation as their take a chance of conception may driblet later on the cancer treatment," she said.
Family planning was an important consideration for Ms Cindy Neo, who was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer in 2017.
At the time, Ms Neo was but thirty years old and was a twelvemonth into her relationship with her partner.
"It was at the back of my mind (at the time), a topic that I had been discussing with my partner but nosotros hadn't quite decided whether or not we wanted children," she said.
"Merely we wanted it to be an option and so, protecting that selection was of import to the states."
Another worry she had initially was the cost of treatments and surgery.
Withal early on in her career, she was not financially stable and did not have a lot of savings, said Ms Neo.
"It was a big worry for me because I kept thinking where's all this money going to come up from ... how much money do I have to pay upfront and what happens if I'g not working ... and so all these added to the mental stress I was facing at the time," she said.
Fortunately, her insurance covered nearly of her medical expenses, which came up to virtually S$50,000.
As for Su Lin, who works as a primary school teacher, finding the time to go through chemotherapy proved to be a challenge.
"Having a total-time chore, it's very difficult to have fourth dimension off on a weekly footing and my chemotherapy sessions are scheduled weekly every Fri," she said.
"So I have to juggle work while juggling life at the same time."
DON'T RULE ANYTHING OUT
While efforts such as the national breast cancer screening programme have helped to increase awareness of breast cancer over the years, a significant gap between knowledge and action remains.
The national population health survey published final year institute that between 85 and 99 per cent of women were aware of mammograms. Despite this, just 38.seven per cent of women in the 50 to 69 age group said they had gone for a mammogram inside the final 2 years.
It means more cases are detected at a after phase, said Associate Professor Veronique Tan, head and senior consultant of NCCS' breast surgery department.
"If you look at the case spread in Singapore, what is actually alarming is that 10 per cent of our chest cancers are diagnosed at stage four. And if you lot take phase three and four as avant-garde breast cancer, 25 per cent are diagnosed in that one stage, which is really very high," she said.
NCCS sees well-nigh 1,200 new breast cancer cases each twelvemonth, Assoc Prof Veronique Tan said.
In comparison, Republic of korea – which has a similar population proportion to Singapore – sees only 1 per cent of breast cancer diagnosed at phase iv.
Among common misconceptions about breast cancer is that it usually happens to those with a family unit history of cancer, said Dr Tan.
"A lot of women remember that they don't need to go for scans because in that location's no history of cancer in their family and they feel absolutely fine. But really, 85 per cent of women who are newly diagnosed with breast cancer accept no family history.
"Then having no family history doesn't mean that we're protected and conversely, having a family history doesn't mean y'all have to go breast cancer. The message is that everybody is at risk."
While cases of breast cancer in men are relatively rare, it is too of import not to rule that out, said Dr Tan, adding that she sees one or two male person patients a year.
"A lot of older and younger men out at that place never consider that they can get breast cancer likewise," she said. "And so, in a lot of cases, nosotros see a delayed diagnosis considering they don't recall to present to the dr.."
Discussions are ongoing between NCCS, the Singapore Cancer Society and the Chest Cancer Foundation to form a support group for the male chest cancer patients here, Dr Tan said.
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/breast-cancer-women-30s-young-treatment-symptoms-285227
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