00:00According to Health Minister Zulkifli Ahmad, more than 50,000 new cancer cases are detected every year.
00:08Alarmingly, most are only identified when the disease has already reached stage 3 or 4.
00:14This is why regular health screenings play a crucial role.
00:19They can make all the difference in detecting cancer early.
00:22With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month,
00:24it's the perfect time to talk about a powerful screening tool, the mammogram.
00:30As part of its mission to be a center of excellence in diagnostic imaging,
00:35Institute Jantung Negara offers a wide range of services from heart scans to mammograms.
00:44FMT sits down with Dr. Sulaiman Tamanang, Senior Consultant Radiologist at IJN,
00:50to learn how mammograms can help detect breast cancer early and what women can expect during screening.
00:55Memograms are the safest, the simplest and the easiest and is available everywhere to do the examination
01:10to detect if there's any problem with the breast.
01:15Of course, there are other modalities that can examine the breast like MRI or all those things.
01:20But the MRI is more expensive, it's not easily available.
01:26Not all centers has got MRI doing breast examination.
01:30Memogram is the simplest, it's easily available and it's cheap.
01:35Memograms use X-rays that produce images.
01:38Yes, why mammogram is important because early cancers normally present either with micro-calcification,
01:45I mean, tiny knot of calcium or just sometimes just some structural distortion,
01:50very, very small structural distortion.
01:53And this can only be seen with mammogram.
01:58Sometimes we can use ultrasound as well to look for all this growth in the breast.
02:03Yes, but as far as micro-calcification, actually the only modalities that can easily pick up is actually mammography.
02:13Sulaiman advises women to have their first mammogram between the ages of 35 and 40.
02:19From age 40 onwards, yearly screenings are recommended.
02:22He also urges women in their 40s to do a self-examination of their breasts regularly
02:27and not wait a full year for their next mammogram if they notice anything unusual.
02:32After turning 50, mammograms can be done every one to two years.
02:37But what's the reason behind this recommended frequency?
02:40In Malaysia, most of the patient is actually pre-menopausal, 40 to 50 years.
02:46But in the US, the incidence of breast cancer is more post-manipausal.
02:53After 50, after menopausal.
02:55According to Sulaiman, statistics show that 1 in 19 women in Malaysia
03:00will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.
03:03Each year, the number of cases rises about 2% to 5%.
03:07The disease is most common among the Chinese, followed by Indians and Malays.
03:13The detection of early breast cancer is actually very important in terms of outcome or prognosis.
03:22So, the rate of survival in early detection of stage 1 breast cancer is actually more than 98%.
03:30For those who are detected in late stage, stage 3, stage 4, I think the survival rate will be less than 50%.
03:38So, again, if we can detect it early, so usually the patient doesn't have to do removal of the whole breast or mastectomy.
03:47They can only do the lumpectomy.
03:49That means they remove the abnormal area and then that's it.
03:53So, they preserve the breast.
03:55So, nowadays they try to do that as far as possible.
03:58Because I think nobody wants to have only one breast, so they feel unstable.
04:04So, I think they try as far as possible nowadays, the breast surgeon will do a lumpectomy rather than mastectomy.
04:11Early detection will save costs, a lot of costs.
04:15Because in the later stage of breast cancer, they have to do a lot of things.
04:20Chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and this chemo and radio actually are not cheap.
04:25They are very expensive.
04:27At IJN, a mammogram screening only takes about 30 minutes and you'll have your results in roughly 2 hours.
04:34Plus, IJN uses 3D mammography or tomosynthesis, which produces more accurate results.
04:40And don't worry, the procedure is pain-free.
04:43You may feel some slight discomfort, but here's a tip.
04:47Schedule your mammogram after your menstrual cycle when your breasts are less tender.
04:52For women who are still hesitant about going for a mammogram, Sulaiman has this advice.
04:57A small tumor or small cancer is not painful, cannot be felt, okay?
05:04Even though you have no family history, it doesn't mean anything.
05:08Because most of the statistics show that majority of women with breast cancer has got no family history.
05:15And don't worry about radiation, okay?
05:19Because your health is more important.
05:21And the radiation part of it is very little and very minimal and it's very safe.
05:26Some people are worried about the outcome.
05:28Say, when I do this, I find something, you know, you don't know what to do, feel sad.
05:33I think it's better to know something early.
05:38Prognosis of the early detection is very good, okay?
05:42And don't wait until you feel alarmed, then only you see a doctor or do other investigation.
05:49Indeed, early detection can make all the difference.
05:52So take charge of your health and book a mammogram with IJN today.
05:56Natasha Bust and Sheila Bijayan, FMT.
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