The aim of International Day against Breast Cancer, which is part October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month, is to raise awareness of the importance of early detection and to beat this disease which affects over 5,300 women in Catalonia and 7 million women worldwide.
As part of the International Day against Breast Cancer, the Spanish Association Against Cancer in Catalonia (Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer - AECC) has organized the “Suma’t al rosa’ (Join the pink) awareness campaign, which intends to express society’s commitment in the battle against breast cancer. With the tagline “El reflex del nostre suport” (The reflection of our support), the initiative aims to raise funds for research and for the continuity of services offered by the AECC to the people who are affected by this disease.
The importance of early detection
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women, especially in women over the age of 50. The most effective test for the early detection of this disease is through a mammogram; a specific type of breast imaging that uses low-dose x-rays and allows for the detection of very small tumours. Mammography screening has proven to be very valuable as there has been 25% - 31% decrease in breast cancer-related deaths among women between the ages of 50 and 69. For this reason the Government’s Breast Cancer Early Detection Programme recommends that all women over the age of 50 receive a mammogram every two years. In 2013, 413,973 women were invited to receive a mammogram, of these 270,823 took the opportunity and underwent screening. This resulted in the diagnosis of 1,099 cases breast cancer.
Breast cancer is one the Government of Catalonia’s priorities in its 2015-2020 Plan against Cancer which the Ministry of Health presented earlier this year to improve the prevention, control, treatment and research of this disease. The Plan integrates the measures developed over the last years and follows the recommendations, guidelines and objectives outlined by the EU, the WHO and Spain’s National Health System Strategy in Cancer. The initiative is part of the Government’s 2011-2015 Health Plan, which includes a reduction in cancer-related mortality rate and an increase in patient survival rate as part of the 2020 objectives.
For more information on activities held in Catalonia to help raise awareness click here.