Cancer facts for women
About the article
This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from May 1988.
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Everyone has a different level of cancer risk, depending on such factors as age, personal and family medical history. Cancer risk also is affected by your lifestyle and health habits
Four types of cancer --breast, lung, colorectal and uterine-- are particularly dangerous to women, but you can do a lot to help protect yourself against these diseases.
See your physician and talk about your cancer risk, what tests you need, how often you need to have them and what else you can do to prevent cancer. From age 20 to 40 you should have a cancer related checkup every three years and every year after 40. Your reward for these precautions will be peace of mind. If cancer should be found, early detection will give you the best chance for cure.
A seminar on the kinds of cancer mostly affecting women will be held in Cayman at the South Sound Community Hall on Monday 9 May at 7.30pm. Organised by CIMDS and the Business and Professional Women's Club, the seminar will feature video presentations with a panel of professionals available to answer questions. Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is the leading cancer killer among women in the USA with 3,000 deaths each year. The number of new cases is approximately 115,000. However, through early detection and prompt treatment, about 87 per cent of breast cancer patients could be saved.
About one out of 11 women will develop breast cancer at some time during their lives. That's why a monthly breast self examination should be a lifelong habit from teenage years on, even though this disease occurs most often in women over 50.
If you're age 50 and over, you should have a breast X ray, (mammogram) every year, between ages 35 to 49, have a baseline breast X ray, from ages 40 to 49 you, should have this X ray every one to two years. depending on your physician's judgement. It is also important to have a physician examine your breasts every three years from ages 20 to 40, and every year after 40.
Mammograms will shortly be available in Cayman.
You could be at risk for breast cancer if you have a personal or family history of this cancer, have never had children or had your first child after age 30.
At any time if you find a lump, nipple discharge, or other changes in your breasts, see your physician without delay.
Lung Cancer.
Lung Cancer is becoming the number one cancer killer of American women with about 36,000 deaths each year. Yet nearly half of these deaths could be prevented if women did not smoke. Cigarette smoking is the largest single preventable cause of death and disability in the US.
Smoking accounts for nearly 50 per cent of lung cancers among women in the US, and for about 10 per cent of all cancer in women. Women who smoke one or more packs of cigarettes a day have a risk of dying from this cancer almost five times as great as a nonsmokers. Since the chest X ray as a routine screening procedure and other tests do not detect lung cancer early enough, prevention is the best step to take.
Don't smoke. No cigarette is "safe" though switching to low tar and nicotine cigarettes may help if you can't quit yet--provided you don't smoke more of them. Quitting completly lowers your risk, over time, almost to that of nonsmokers as long as no irreversible disease is already present.
Uterine Cancer Uterine cancer is fourth in the number of new cases (55,000) but deaths (under 10,000) have dropped sharply over the years, mostly because of the Pap test which helps detect cancer of the uterine cervix early. The five year relative survival rate is 85 per cent with early detection. Every woman should have a Pap test at least once every three years, after two initial negative tests one year apart, from age 20 on (earlier if sexually active.)
Also from 20 years on, women should have a pelvic examination every three years and yearly after age 40. Endometrial cancer, in the lining of body of the uterus, occurs mainly in women over 40. You could be at risk for this cancer if you are obese, take hormones or have abnormal bleeding, infertility or failure of ovualtion, If you have reached menopause and are at risk, your physician should examine an endometrial tissue sample.
Any abnormal uterine bleeding should always be reproted promptly to your physician. Colorectal cancer is the third major cancer in annual deaths (30,000) and third in new cases (68,000). It occurs slightly more often in women than men and mostly in women over age 50.
Three out of four of these cancer patients could be saved with early detection. Three effective early detection tests are: 1) the digital rectal exam, which should be part of your yearly health check up after age 40; 2) the stool blood test every year after age 50; 3) the procto, after age 50, every three to five years following two negative tests one year apart.
Only your physician can assess your risk level and whether you need to have any of these tests earlier or more often. Risks include personal or family history of colon and rectum cancer, personal or family history of polyps in the colon or rectum and ulcerative colitis.
Symptoms such as bleeding from the rectum, blood in the stool, persistent change in bowel habits or cramping abdominal pain should be reported to your physician without delay. Skin Cancer
Most skin cancers are highly curable. They are more common among women with lightly pigmented skin. Melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer, strikes about 9,000 women each year and causes about 2,300 deaths.
If you notice any unusual skin condition, especially a change in a mole or other growth or spot, see your physician without delay.
Use sense in the sun. Avoid overexposure by wearing protective clothing or sunscreen preparations.
Seven warning signs
The steps outlined in this article can help protect you against the most common forms of cancer in women. In addition, should you notice any of the "seven warning signals" listed below, see your physician without delay. *Change in bowel or bladder habits *A sore that does not heal *Unusual bleeding or discharge *Thickening or lump in breast or elsewhere *Indigestion or difficulty in swallowing *Obvious change in wart or mole *Nagging cough or horseness This article was reproduced courtesy of the American Cancer Society.
