On average, every 24 hours a woman was diagnosed with breast cancer in Jalisco during 2021, according to figures released by the State Secretary of Health, Fernando Petersen Aranguren, within the month of October, breast cancer awareness.
According to what was said by the head of the Jalisco Health Secretariat (SSJ), during 2021, 721 women were diagnosed with this disease.
“That speaks of 300 families that today are having their mother, their sister, their daughter, with a major problem. What we want right now is to give early diagnoses because in most cases if an early diagnosis is made, cancer can be cured, and it can be cured with medications or minimally invasive surgeries”, explained the secretary during his attendance at the tenth Race Against Breast Cancer organized by the Autonomous University of Guadalajara, Radiorama, the SSJ and civil associations.
According to information obtained through transparency, only the Jalisco Institute of Cancerology detected 478 new cases in 2020, while the previous year there were 458, without counting diagnoses from other hospitals.
“Not all those diagnosed in 2021 are in terminal states. Unfortunately, more than half of all of them already arrive in later stages, that is why prevention is so important, that they help us with self-examination and also come to have their mammogram or sonogram done so that diagnoses can be made early, ” he added.
Regarding deaths from this disease, he pointed out, there were 633 women who lost their lives due to breast cancer during the past year.
In addition, according to data from the OPD Jalisco Health Services, during 2021, 44,073 mammograms were performed, 78% more than those performed during 2020. That is, of the 120 mammograms performed on average daily, 1.6% were positive for the disease.
Fernando Petersen recalled that throughout the State there are 67 mammographers among all the institutions that make up the existing health system in the Entity (SSJ, IMSS, ISSSTE, OPD Salud Jalisco and the Regional Military Hospital) to which women and men can go to practice the study.
The goal for 2022 is to perform more than 110,000 mammograms, that is, to more than double those performed last year.
Read more: With campaign, the SSJ invites to detect breast cancer
“The ideal is between the ages of 40 and 59, you have to have a mammogram. It is also important to know that we have to eliminate risk factors such as obesity, smoking, the indiscriminate use of medications such as contraceptives, are some of the issues that can help us reduce breast cancer. Prevention is the most important thing we have. We must put self-examination as the first step in primary prevention, then a mammogram and continue with what follows”, added Fernando Petersen.
Finally, he said, during the month of October, the month dedicated to raising awareness of this disease, all the Entity’s medical units have launched campaigns to raise awareness of the issue and motivate people to carry out self-examinations and clinical studies, in addition to the campaign promoted on social networks by the SSJ.
