Mexico City, October 16.—In Mexico, the median age for breast cancer is 50, and screening mammograms are indicated for women between 40 and 69. However, in recent years, the incidence has increased at younger ages, explained Claudia Arce Salinas, an oncologist at the National Cancer Institute (Incan).
At this highly specialized hospital, 17 percent of patients are under 40 years old. The main challenge in their care is that when they identify an abnormality in their breasts, the doctors they see don't suspect it could be a malignant tumor and prescribe treatments for other benign conditions.
The same can happen at the other end of life: women aged 70 or older can also develop this disease, which is expected and common because aging is the main risk factor for cancer.
Cells lose protective mechanisms due to mutations, sun exposure, and environmental pollutants. In fact, she indicated, if women lived to be 100, eight out of 10 of us would develop cancer.
She assumed there may be a lack of information about these cases because mammograms are no longer indicated for this age group, and a false perception is generated that if they no longer need to undergo the test, it's because they no longer have the disease. This isn't the case: they should continue self-examinations.
The specialist clarified that mammography seeks to prevent death, and the way to do so is through timely diagnosis. However, when it comes to a woman over 70, she may be livig with other conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease that increase her risk of death.
