• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
No Result
View All Result
1
Home Lifestyle

50% drop in number of women screening for breast cancer

27 October 2020, 4:18 PM  |
Thabile Mbhele Thabile Mbhele |  @SABCNews
Women are urged to get screened for breast cancer.

Women are urged to get screened for breast cancer.

Image: Reuters

Women are urged to get screened for breast cancer.

There has been a 50% drop in the number of women screening for breast cancer this year, due to COVID-19. That is according to Keystone Radiology – a modern and innovative radiology service provider.

It has called on women to use Breast Cancer Awareness Month to get screened for breast cancer and detect it early while it can still be treated.

Doctor Pieter Henning a Diagnostic Radiologist at Keystone Radiology says COVID-19 has had a negative impact on cancer care as it prevented women from coming forward to do their mammograms.

“We have now seen that with the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a dramatic decrease in women regularly going for their screening. The average figures that we see in SA is about a 5% reduction in mammograms being performed and because of this, we immediately see that there is a much higher incidence of cancer presenting at a much later stage. Now, why this is important is that breast cancer is actually a curable disease if you pick it up early enough.”

He says women can use one of three ways to screen for breast cancer. They can do a self-breast examination at home, do a Sona which uses sound waves and mammograms preferably on women 40 years and older since this uses x-rays.

Doctor Henning says cancer affects younger women now more than before.

“If you have a first-line relative like your mother or your sister that had breast cancer at an early age, let’s say 40, you have to go for your mammogram 10 years younger than their diagnosis. In other words, if your mom had it at 40 you should go at 30 for your mammogram. Just to give you an example, this week in our practice we have seen five women with breast cancer and four of the five women were under the age of 40. So, definitely, the disease pattern that we see in the world has dramatically changed.”

Survivors share their stories:

Cansa funding

The Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa) says the COVID-19 pandemic had a major financial impact on the organisation and its services, hampering all its fundraising efforts.

Cansa’s Lucy Balona says they moved some of their support programmes online to prevent any disruption to services for their patients.

“We’ve launched an online programme specifically aimed at metastatic breast cancer patients. These are patients that have got breast cancer that has spread and that is quite severe. They are usually stage four patients and they have a whole lot of challenges that they go through and a lot of pain that they have to manage and we did involve seven patients that were actually part of the programme that help develop it for us.”

Both Balona and Henning have stressed that early detection of breast cancer saves many lives.

Share article
Tags: Breast CancerScreeningBreast Cancer Month
Previous Post

SCA rules in favour of DA over Tshwane Metro administration saga

Next Post

New Black Leopards coach looking for redemption against Baroka FC in Limpopo derby

Related Posts

[File photo] Library seen in the image above.

City of Cape Town getting ready for South African Library Week

11 March 2023, 6:12 PM
British music producer Brian Eno addresses a news conference of the Starmus Festival V in Zurich, Switzerland June 24, 2019.

Venice Biennale to honour British musician Brian Eno

9 March 2023, 11:47 AM
Israel's Netta reacts as she wins the Grand Final of Eurovision Song Contest 2018 at the Altice Arena hall in Lisbon, Portugal, May 12, 2018.

Eurovision Song Contest final tickets sell out in 36 minutes

7 March 2023, 4:36 PM
Muslims offer prayers before having their Iftar (fast-breaking) meal during the holy month of Ramadan at a madrasa or religious school on the outskirts of Jammu August 8, 2012

Festivities ahead of Ramadan for Pinelands community

5 March 2023, 4:53 PM
A microphone on stage before a concert

Musicians to raise funds for charity

5 March 2023, 2:30 PM
Elton John performs as he returns to complete his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour since it was postponed due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in 2020, in New Orleans, Louisiana, US, January 19, 2022.

Guns N’ Roses and Arctic Monkeys to headline Glastonbury along with Elton John

4 March 2023, 2:38 PM
Next Post
The two Limpopo outfits will lock horns at Thohoyandou Stadium at 19h30 kick-off time.

New Black Leopards coach looking for redemption against Baroka FC in Limpopo derby

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • Durban’s N2 road, Spaghetti Junction closed due to cleanup operations
  • Deadline for Zimbabwean Exemption Permits draws near
  • DENOSA defends nurses for placing newborns in boxes
  • Limpopo teacher writes a book which simplifies Maths
  • Limpopo healthcare set to get massive boost with multi-billion rand hospital
  • Dr Nandipha’s looks during court appearances under the spotlight
  • Experts raise caution over Prime energy drink craze
  • Dr Nandipha Magudumana, co-accused in Thabo Bester’s escape to apply for bail
  • Reserve Bank expected to increase repo rate on Thursday
  • Petrol price up, diesel down from midnight
  • Free State communities lament worsening water issues
  • DA wants Public Protector to investigate R3.5 million spent on Makgoe’s funeral
  • Health department set to tighten tobacco regulations
  • Three provinces have reported cholera cases: Dr Phaahla
  • McKaiser’s death a major loss to journalism fraternity

LATEST

FILE PHOTO: Plaintiffs hold hands each other after a district court ruled on the legality of same-sex marriages outside Sapporo district court in Sapporo, Hokkaido, northern Japan March 17, 2021, in this photo taken by Kyodo.
  • World

US disappointed with promulgation of Anti-Homosexuality Act in Uganda


DA Leader John Steenhuisen
  • Politics

Steenhuisen says Ramaphosa’s presidential failures are political trickery


Passengers wait for a bus in the City of Tshwane
  • South Africa

Tshwane only metro that presented unreliable financials: AG


F1 cars seen at the Spanish GP
  • Sport

Verstappen and Alonso back where they first and last won


South Africa's Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, ahead of their bilateral meeting in Pretoria, South Africa, January 23, 2023.
  • Opinion

Minister Pandor hosts BRICS foreign ministers to thrash out path into the future


Smoke from a lightly lit up bulb.
  • Eskom rolling blackouts
  • South Africa

Ramaphosa dismisses notion of a grid-collapse


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2023

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2023

Previous Tshwane council meeting SCA rules in favour of DA over Tshwane Metro administration saga
Next New Black Leopards coach looking for redemption against Baroka FC in Limpopo derby