00:00The World Health Organization says breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women worldwide.
00:09It says in 2022, approximately 2.3 million women were diagnosed with the disease and another 670,000 died as a result.
00:21This year's theme for Breast Cancer Awareness Month is Every Story is Unique, Every Journey Matters.
00:28Speaking on the TV6 Morning Edition, geneticist Dr. Nicole Ramlachan explains how the disease spreads.
00:37You can have something called a somatic mutation where it just occurs in that one cell and it just happens to be unlucky.
00:44And that cell uncontrollably divides and divides and divides and it forms a tumor.
00:49It no longer has the checks and balances to stop dividing.
00:52And that tumor then can become metastatic as we call it and can break off and go to different organs, different parts of your body, your bones, your kidneys, your livers and so on and cause metastatic cancer.
01:05Now the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in particular have associated with increased risk of breast cancer, increased risk of ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer and some other cancers as well too.
01:18She warns that men with this gene are not exempt and may likewise be susceptible to developing the condition.
01:27Even men with a BRCA change or BRCA mutation can be at increased risk for breast cancer, even though it's much lower than women.
01:34However, they also have a higher risk of prostate, pancreatic and some other cancers as well too.
01:39Dr. Ramlachan is urging women and men to get tested, saying that timely awareness and action can transform outcomes.
01:50If you've been diagnosed or a family member's been diagnosed, you have a much better chance of getting what we call tailored or personalized treatment.
01:59And a lot of the treatments that are available now, even therapeutic treatments, drugs, can be associated with a particular mutation to have a better outcome.
02:08For example, it's very well known that people who are triple negative respond well to Hizeptin.
02:13People who are BRCA1 or BRCA2 positives can be introduced in their chemotherapy to assist.
02:21One of the strategic pillars of the World Health Organization is to empower individuals and communities to recognize symptoms early and seek prompt care.
02:32Aiming for 60% of invasive breast cancers to be diagnosed at stage 1 or 2.
02:38According to Dr. Ramlachan, early detection is not just about identifying cancer.
02:44It determines whether radiation alone will be effective or if a more aggressive surgical treatment is required.
02:53Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
Comments