HOUSE OF THE WEEK
Unfinished project in South Okkalapa tsp
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Doctors urge early detection for breast cancer
(Volume 26, No. 512)
Daw Khin Tin at her home in downtown Yangon. In March 2007 she had a mastectomy after doctors discovered she had stage three breast cancer. Pic: K Thidar Myint Thein Pe
WHEN the biopsy result came back, tears were rolling down 63-year-old Daw Khin Tin’s face.
“While I was bathing, just by chance I touched a small lump in my breast. It wasn’t painful but one week later it seemed bigger so I went to a clinic and the doctor urged me to have a biopsy done straight away,” Daw Khin Tin said.
“The results showed the cancer was already at stage three,” the final stage before it spreads to other parts of the body. “I was haunted by the disease and lived with the constant fear that I would die.”
“This was made worse because two of my neighbours died of breast cancer while I was taking treatment,” she said.
In March 2007, she had a mastectomy to remove one of her breasts. After the operation, she received radiotherapy for 22 days and is now in the middle of a five-year course of medicine and says she feels healthy.
Daw Khin Tin is one of the lucky ones, as many women in Myanmar only discover they have breast cancer when it is at an advanced stage, according to medical experts.
Professor Oo Kyaw, a retired surgeon from the Medical Institute (2), said women over 40 should regularly check their breasts for lumps. If they find any, they should immediately consult a qualified doctor.
“It is very important that the cancer is uncovered at an early stage. Most patients only come to get a lump examined when the cancer is at an advanced stage. If they get treatment early on, they have a much greater chance of making a full recovery,” Dr Oo Kyaw said.
“Even if the lump does not hurt and is only small in size, it is important to get it examined. When it becomes bigger, the patient has a much slimmer chance of surviving, even with treatment. The best prevention for women is to check their breasts every day for lumps.”
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women in Myanmar and a significant killer of women over 40.
Not only does early detection improve chances of survival, but it makes it less likely that a mastectomy will be required. For cancers detected at an advanced stage, mastectomy is often necessary.
Women who are forced to take this option can initially find it difficult to cope with the loss of one or both breasts. Daw Khin Tin said she dealt with her embarrassment by filling her bra with cloth, to give the appearance of having breasts.
“A mastectomy often leaves women with a sense of inferiority. Especially early on it can be difficult for patients when they see women with normal breasts. They need fortitude during that early period,” Dr Oo Kyaw said.
Waiting in front of the radiation therapy room at Yangon General Hospital last month, 57-year-old Daw Nwe Kyi told The Myanmar Times she first noticed a lump in her breast five months ago. Initially she ignored it because it was painless, but after a short period decided to take action because it had got larger and was starting to hurt.
“First I went to a traditional medicine clinic where a doctor put some leaves on the area where the lump was. But it just got worse, and started aching severely,” said Daw Nwe Kyi, a mother of six children.
After being laid up in bed for several days, her family sent her to the hospital for treatment.
“I do not have to have my breast removed,” she said. “Since February 15, I have been receiving radiotherapy to remove the cancer.”
