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Mauritius: Breast Cancer is not a Fatality!
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L'Express (Port Louis)
19 October 2007
Posted to the web 22 October 2007
Pauline Etienne
Port Louis
For the second year, Mauritius Duty Free Paradise organised a conference to sensitize airport employees to the risks of the disease . Although the death rate has dropped, the number of cases is on the increase.
Fitness trainer, Michèle Dulthumon, Dr Hassen Mustun and French oncologist, Laurence Digue, all pointed at the need for a healthy lifestyle and diet as preventive measures to a disease that can be cured if taken early enough.
"Prevention is better than cure." This phrase is even more relevant when it comes to breast cancer. 90% of this type of cancer can be cured if it is tackled in time. This is why it is so important for all women to make sure they make their own screening each month.
As October is Breast Cancer Awareness month worldwide, Mauritius Duty Free Paradise (MDFP), through the initiative of its human resources manager, Veeren Comaren, seized the opportunity of joining the Estée Lauder initiative. Four eminent personalities were invited on Wednesday afternoon for a forum targeting the female airport staff.
With his 26 years' experience in oncology at Candos Hospital, and now director of Med Point private hospital, Dr Hassen Mustun, made it clear from the outset that "breast cancer is the most common type of cancer". In fact, it comes just after the most frequent ones in Mauritius - diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
The changes in lifestyle seem to be the main reason for the alarming increase in the number of cases. "Women used to get married at 13 years old and already had 10 children when they were thirty a few years back." In fact, apart from family history, the fact of not having children or bearing children quite late can be a potential risk of developing breast cancer, as French oncologist Laurence Digue - in charge of the cancer department at the university hospital of Marseille - pointed out.
But this is not the only factor. Although there is no real guarantee not to catch cancers, a healthy lifestyle can definitely reduce the risks of having breast cancer. The former chief nutritionist of the Health ministry with his 23 years' experience and now consultant in the hotel industry, Deelanee Dooreemiah, emphasised the importance of consuming a lot of vegetables, the dangers of alcohol and tobacco as well as fat ingredients. "With the changes in lifestyle and diet, the new generations are even more affected with the disease." For her part, the fitness trainer, Michèle Dulthumon, stressed the need of regular physical activity to help reduce developing breast cancer - the more so as obesity is another risk factor.
If one can't really have a direct impact on the environment and growing pollution - which are also risk factors - one can nevertheless adopt a healthier lifestyle, said Dr Laurence Digue. "The public itself should take this decision not to allow the disease to spread," added the nutritionist.
Self-palpation saves lives
During the whole conference, all speakers made it clear that breast cancer is no longer a fatality - "Having breast cancer is not the end of the world now," said Dr Mustun. "The breast is a superficial organ that can be easily accessed by women themselves. Breast cancer is curable but the sooner it is detected, the better chance the patient has of being cured."
Dr Laurence Digue gave guidelines to the women present so that they can easily see if something is unusual or wrong. "The more often you palpate your breast, the easier it will be for you to detect any anomaly." The ideal would be that women palpate themselves once a month about five days after their menses. She also reassured those present about possible lumps. "In most cases, there is nothing serious, as there are different types of lumps," confirmed Dr Mustun.
However, early detection increases the chances of being cured if ever the lump proves cancerous. "The more so as every treatment is now available in Mauritius. Thousands of cases are now tackled in Mauritius and patients are cured and lead a normal life afterwards." In saying so, Dr Mustun was pointing at "sects that prevent people from getting medical treatment". Although he made it clear he keeps his mind open and respects each one's beliefs, he called upon these groups not to prevent their members from getting medical treatment. "I am not against traditional medicines and plant-based treatment but patients can also benefit from medical treatment which has showed some results. They should benefit from it."
Link to Life calls upon Mauritian generosity
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The non-governmental organisation (NGO), Link To Life, is organising a fund-raising event to help those affected with cancer today at the Esplanade des Droits humains, municipality of Port-Louis between 9.30 am and 4.30 pm today. This NGO helps those affected with the disease and their families mainly through psychological support in public and private hospitals. However, it needs more financial support to continue these visits, as well as provide wigs and transport to those who can't travel to the hospital.
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| Copyright © 2007 L'Express. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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