The number of breast cancer patients in Taiwan increases by 9,000 each year, with most of them 10 years younger than their European and US counterparts, a hospital director said yesterday.
Chang King-jen (張金堅), director of Cheng Ching Hospital in Taipei, said European women tend to develop breast cancer between the ages of 55 and 65, while Taiwanese women tend to develop the disease when they are between 45 and 55 years old.
In the US, women are more likely to develop breast cancer after menopause than their Taiwanese counterparts, Chang said.
However, Taiwanese women have a higher chance of developing the disease before menopause than women in the US, he said.
Chang made his remarks on the sidelines of the Reach to Recovery International Breast Cancer Support Conference.
The fact that women in Taiwan develop the disease younger could be related to such practices as keeping hot food in plastic bags, he said.
Overall, Chang said, the risk of developing breast cancer has increased 4.8 times from 1989 to 2008, when it was 11.7 patients per 100,000 and 56.1 patients per 100,000 respectively.
To promote early detection of the disease, Chang urged women to examine their breasts for lumps on a monthly basis and make full use of mammography screenings, which are free for women between the ages of 45 and 69.
More than 700 survivors of breast cancer from 32 countries gathered in Taipei for the conference to share their experiences of combating the disease.
One 26-year-old woman said the conference was important because it helped raise people’s awareness of breast cancer.
“The thought of getting breast cancer had never entered my mind because I was so young,” said Tseng Ying-tzu (曾盈慈), who was diagnosed with phase 2 breast cancer at 23.
Three years ago, Tseng discovered a 2cm lump on her upper left chest, which proved to be cancerous after preliminary surgery. She has since received a mastectomy and undergone chemotherapy and targeted medication.
“My female friends are now more alert to cancer. They even made sure their insurance coverage included the disease,” Tseng said.
Citing Tseng’s case as an example, experts at the event said that women in Asia needed to be vigilant about breast cancer because the disease affects younger populations as well.
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