Breast - female sex and beauty attribute

Breasts - female sex and beauty attribute, and also a part of body vulnerable to illnesses. One in two women in Poland has some breast abnormality and problems with this body part. The first one is at the early stage of feminine life their size and shape. The nature itself creates beautiful and healthy breasts, but some number of young girls need doctor's help, i.e. nutrition guidance, exercise, massage and cosmetic treatment advice.

Normal breasts should not be small all too big. Intervention must be made in the moment of their development, in some cases hormone treatment is necessary.

Prophylactive screenings conducted in Warsaw shown abnormalities in breasts of 60% of women aged between 20-60. They were problems which can be collected in following groups:

• inborn breast defects,
• skin pathologies (birthmarks, warts, angiomas, etc.),
• nipple pathologies,
• inflammations,
• mild lesions of breast core (mastopatia, large cysts, fibromas, lipomas),
• malignant cancers.

So breast problems are diagnosed more frequently than in every one in two women, however malignant tumor (cancer) is a rare breast illness. Each year we diagnose breast cancer in every 5 in 10.000 women. It must be born in mind that the number of cancer occurrence grows together with the age going up, ie. In the age group of 55 years there is one case of cancer in 1.000 women.

Cancer is the most serious breast illness. The chances of curing it depends on the early detection: in its earliest stage the cancer is entirely curable - an operation consisting in only part of a breast is possible - thus preserving this very important attribute of feminine beauty.

What should be done to detect cancer in this stage most prognosticating for successful curing?

• from the age of 20 perform self examination of breast; one week after period,
• from the age of 30 request breast examination from a doctor, once a year,
• in the age between 35-39 do at least one mammography,
• in the age between 40-49 do mammography every two years,
• in the age between 50-60 do mammography every year, and after 60 - according to doctor's guidelines.

If relatives of a women suffered from cancer, particularly breast ones, mammography can be recommended more often.

Mammography is presently the best method detecting this dangerous illness. Methods such as ultrasonography are very helpful and some modern methods of action with the use of magnetic resonance (MR) and laser bring hopes for even better effectiveness that mammography.

With the same number of patients falling ill with breast cancer (10.000 women) in Poland and in the Netherlands, in Poland approximately 5.000 women die of breast cancer and in Holland only 3.000. These 2.000 women a year are saved by the common use of mammography in case of women older than 50 in Holland. Adequate use of mammography can save these 2.000 women in Poland as well.

Remember dear Ladies, that from among 20 millions of women now living in Poland at least 1.250.000 women will fall ill with breast cancer. Let's therefore do something to save lives of many thousands of women. Without any other revelations only thanks to mammography 250.000 female lives can be saved. Ladies! Do it for yourselves, so that the slogan "My health is in my hands" will not only remain a slogan. Save yourselves, your mothers, sisters, daughters and friends!

dr Zbigniew Wronkowski

Proffessor and doctor Zbigniew Wronkowski is a specialist grade II in oncology, he works in the Oncology Center in Warsaw. He was the first person in Poland to introduce breast cancer screening tests in 1976 with the use of mammography. He is the president of the Committee for Fighting Cancer (Komitet Zwalczania Raka) and created and the program called "A pass to XXI century" („Przepustka do XXI wieku".)