October 10, 2020 Breast Health Day

Author: Davor Kust, MD PhD

The onkologija.net team supported the Healthy Breast Day, which was held in Zagreb this year and was organized by the PINK life patient association. This is an event that aims to raise awareness of the importance of prevention and early detection of breast cancer, and to encourage women to participate in preventive examinations.

According to the latest data from 2017, almost 2,800 people in Croatia are diagnosed with this disease every year, and around 750 of them die. It is worrying that the number of patients is continuously increasing every year. Although mortality from the disease itself has been declining slightly in recent years, this decline is still significantly slower than in some other developed European countries. One of the most important reasons for this is that a significant proportion of patients are still diagnosed with the disease in an advanced stage. In accordance with the above, it is necessary to actively work on even greater patient response to preventive examinations, primarily to mammography as part of the National Breast Cancer Early Detection Program. This is a test that can detect the disease at an early stage in a large number of patients, thus enabling a cure. It is believed that the disease, detected at an early stage, is curable in over 90% of patients. In addition to mammography, regular breast self-examination is also important, which every woman can easily perform once a month and thus potentially detect any unusual changes in the breasts that may be the first sign of the disease.

For this reason, health-educational events such as Healthy Breast Day serve to remind the public once again of the importance of prevention and early detection of this disease, and so that people do not neglect the most important thing they have - their own health. This year, the event traditionally began on Cvjetni trg in Zagreb, and then continued on the roof of the Zagreb City Emergency Room in Heinzelova Street, where a fashion show was held at which creations by famous Croatian fashion designers were worn by breast cancer patients. The event was supported by numerous partners of the association, including the onkologija.net team, during which Dr. Davor Kust, MD, gave a statement to the media - Radio Sljeme, HRT and N1.