Dr. Tran Nguyen Minh Huy - Head of Cancer Screening Department, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital said that the World Health Organization recommends that all women aged 40 and over should be screened for breast cancer, especially those with a family history of the disease.
The frequency of breast cancer screening can vary from case to case, but women should be screened at least once a year. Those at high risk often have symptoms such as: abnormal density of the breast on one side, changes in breast skin color or mobile breast lump, inverted nipple or unusual sausagey discharge, rough or orange peel-like nipple skin, lymph nodes in the armpit...
Dr. Minh Huy also emphasized: "In pregnant women, the breasts can change shape and cover up early signs of cancer. According to statistics, for every 3,000 pregnant women, there is one case of breast cancer, this is the type of cancer with the highest rate during pregnancy. Early detection of the disease will help the treatment process better and increase the mother's life expectancy."
Currently, breast cancer screening tests do not affect the fetus. Screening methods such as ultrasound, mammography, MRI and biopsy are all modern methods that help detect the disease early without affecting the health of the pregnancy.
