Caymanian women should take some time out of their busy
schedules this week and take a free test to determine if they have a genetic
predisposition for breast and ovarian cancer.
The testing is free, thanks to the Susan G. Komen for the
Cure Foundation.
The study is looking specifically at indigenous Caymanian
women because of a doctor’s findings when she conducted similar testing in the
Bahamas.
The study showed that 43 per cent of women in the Bahamas
who died of breast cancer were younger than 50 years old. That’s startling
information because conventional medical practice begins screening women for
breast cancer at age 40. That recommendation is based on sound science and statistics.
But, like in the Bahamas, younger women are at threat and do
get breast and ovarian cancer.
The difficulty of diagnosing breast cancer in younger
patients is what makes awareness so important. Because breast tissue is more
dense in 20- to 40-year-olds, mammograms and MRIs don’t always find tumours.
Most young women diagnosed find the abnormality themselves.
According to the Susan C. Komen organisation and other
advocacy groups, survival rates are the lowest for women in their 20s and 30s.
At that age, women are often less likely to seek early medical attention,
leading to later detection and diagnoses at more advanced stages
If you are a Caymanian woman who has or has had breast or
ovarian cancer, were born in Cayman, or have at least one grandparent who was
born in Cayman, you should attend the session tonight at 7 tonight at Mary
Miller Hall. There you will get information about breast and ovarian cancer and
learn more about the study. Women who volunteer to take the test can do so for
the remainder of the week at the Cancer Society office.
If we, like the Bahamas, are found to have genetic mutations
that make our women more likely to develop cancer of the breasts or ovaries, we
will be better armed to fend off and fight the disease.
This testing and the study are important for women now, but
also our future daughters. Please take part.
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