Fear hinders fights against breast cancer

Fear hinders fights against breast cancer

JAKARTA (JP): Most Indonesian women are either too ignorant or
too afraid to check for possible breast cancer. This, says a
local oncologist, explains the prevalence of women with advanced
stages of breast cancer in this country.

Muchlis Ramli said it is understandable if women with weak
educational backgrounds do not seek medical advice for symptoms
of breast cancer.

But, Muchlis pointed out, educated women have the same
tendency. "They would rather seek traditional healers although
such treatment cannot yet be justified scientifically."

He stressed the need for a higher awareness among women to
conduct regular self-checks. Seeking medical advice in instances
of suspicious signs, he added, would help prevent the need for
breast removal.

Breast conserving treatment is possible only up through the
earliest stages of the second stadium in breast cancer, he said.

The increasing prevalence of breast cancer among Indonesian
women has placed a burden on many of the country's hospitals,
most of which are still too ill-equipped to deal with the
problem.

Muchlis was one of the speakers at Tuesday's symposium on the
future trends in breast cancer control, which was held in
conjunction with the international cancer conference at the
Jakarta Convention Center.

Muchlis, who heads the oncology subdivision at the state-run
Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM), said the scarcity of
such facilities as mammography equipment discourages women from
having the necessary examination. "Women have to queue for
examinations like at RSCM."

Muchlis estimates that each year Indonesia sees an addition of
20,000 women afflicted with breast cancer. This represents about
11 percent of the 180,000 new cancer patients added each year.

"Like in Japan the highest incidence is found in women between
40 and 49 years old," he said.

Although nationwide statistics are not yet available, Ramli
cited his 1988 hospital records, where breast cancer ranked first
among cancers detected in Padang (West Sumatra) and Ujung Pandang
(South Sulawesi), second in Bandung (West Java), Semarang
(Central Java) and Surabaya (East Java) and third in Palembang
(South Sumatra).

The symposium participants discussed options to conventional
surgery for the treatment of both breast and prostrate cancer,
and Muchlis was among those who stressed the importance of
different treatments at different stages.

"We cannot apply every new method which comes along, as each
condition is different," he said, adding that most patients in
Indonesia are in an advanced stage, where surgery combined with
medication is still often necessary.

Included in the symposium was a presentation of a pilot
project in community-based cancer control being carried out in
the regency of Sidoardjo, East Java. The project is being
spearheaded by several people, including Mrs. Basofi Sudirman,
the chairwoman of the government-sponsored family welfare
promotion organization.

The Governor, who was also present, said officials' wives will
also play an important role in making such models successful.

Within six months, the project, which spreads its message
through radio and cultural events, succeeded in detecting early
signs of cervix cancer through papsmear tests in most of the
30,000 women examined.

Karjadi Wirjoatmodjo, a team member that helped with the
presentation of the project, said he was confident that the
equipment for the early detection of breast cancer would soon
become more widely available. (anr)