Prevent Breast Cancer, Women Over 40 Years Don't Hesitate To Screen

Illustration of women caring about breast cancer (Pexels)

JAKARTA - Minister of Health (Menkes) Budi Gunadi Sadikin said that breast cancer screening will be included in the health examination program for women over 40 years of age. He also appealed to the age group not to hesitate to do health checks.

In a statement delivered in Jakarta on Monday, Minister of Health Budi highlighted that breast cancer is still the main cause of the death of Indonesian women from cancer. He emphasized the importance of early detection to prevent high mortality rates.

Many women died because this cancer was detected late, usually when it reached stage three or four. In fact, with today's technology, if cancer is detected in stage one or two, the chances of survival are much greater," he explained as quoted by ANTARA.

The Minister of Health revealed that fear of the results of poor examinations is often a barrier for women to self-examination. In fact, according to him, the sooner cancer is detected, the greater the chance of recovery.

Many are reluctant to do mamography for fear of accepting the reality if there is a problem. However, I know that knowing cancer in the early stages is much better than knowing it in the advanced stage," he said.

He also explained that early detection of breast cancer can actually be done in first-level health facilities, such as health centers, by using ultrasonographic tools (USG). For this reason, the Minister of Health encourages the competence of general practitioners to be improved, so that ultrasound devices available at health centers can be used not only for pregnancy examinations, but also for breast cancer screening.

During his visit to the Bahtamas Hospital in Southeast Sulawesi, Budi reviewed various medical devices obtained through funding Strengthening Indonesia's HealthCare Referral Network (SIHREN). One of the tools he reviewed was the emmography, which was provided by the Ministry of Health in 2023 to support early detection of breast cancer.

The Minister of Health also had the opportunity to have a dialogue with Ni Kadek Mulyati, a breast cancer survivor, who invited Indonesian women not to hesitate to regularly check themselves.

"To all women, both in Indonesia and in the world, let's check ourselves early to detect diseases that we may not yet realize," said Ni Kadek.

According to dr. Albertus Varera, Sp Rad, a doctor at Bahtimas Hospital, a mamographic tool obtained through SIHREN funds has been used for various examinations, including medical check-ups.

"Until now, we have done mamography for six patients in the context of medical check-ups, and all the results show normal conditions," explained dr. Albertus.