Revised 07/09/2009
| CoR Value Added Mammogram Programme (CMP) in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) 2008
By Dr Nik Munirah Nik Mahdi This is the second time the value added subsidised mammogram programme by the College of Radiology was organised through a joint effort by the Radiology Department HUSM and Kelantan Family Planning Association (KFPA). The programme started off with a breast cancer talk given by Dr Nik Munirah Nik Mahdi - a breast radiologist, and a breast cancer awareness exhibition at Kota Bharu Shopping Mall on 14th June 2008 in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. The talk was done in conjunction with the Rotary Club Day celebration and anti-dadah campaign. Following that, together with the help from Ms Wong Mei Lin, KFPA Coordinator, visits to several selected districts in Kelantan namely Machang, Bachok, Selising,Tanah Merah and Gua Musang were made, to find suitable candidates.
The aim of the programme was to impart education and awareness regarding breast cancer and the importance of screening in the early detection of breast cancer. It was also aimed to select women from low socioeconomic groups to have their mammogram done through the CMP. A total of 147 women registered for the CMP which started on 27th July and finished on 24th December 2008. The women came to our mammography suite to have their mammogram and some would have adjunct (complementary) ultrasound breast done for them on the same day. They would leave the department with their mammography report in hand and the findings explained to them by the radiology registrar or radiologist. The candidate only paid RM30 for the value added mammogram.
| | Profile of the participants | There were 48 Malays, 90 Chinese, 2 Indians and 7 Siamese women who participated in this programme, giving a total of 147 participants. Out of 147 women, 128 (87.07%) had their first mammogram and 12 women (8.16%) had a positive family history of breast cancer. The age ranged from 29 to 71 years with a mean of 46 years.
| | Findings | 40.13% of participants (n=59) had normal mammogram (BIRADS 1) and 58.5% (n=86) had benign findings (BIRADS 2). From 147 participants, 2 candidates were found to have BIRADS 4 and 5, respectively. Both underwent trucut biopsy of the breast lesions and the histopathological examination (HPE) revealed fibrocyctic changes in the one with BIRADS 4. The trucut biopsy specimen was not representative of the true lesion, thus she was offered a prebiopsy hookwire localisation of the lesion. The second woman with BIRADS 5 was found to have infiltrating ductal carcinoma and mastectomy was done. She had undergone CT scan for staging her disease and would be followed up by the oncology team for adjuvant chemotherapy treatment.
(Note: BIRADS is an American College of Radiology classification for the lesions seen on the mammogram, where BIRADS 4 is for slightly suspicious whilst BIRADS 5 for suspicious lesion/s.)
| | Summary | | Throughout the programme, we found a low level of awareness of breast cancer and the importance of screening was evident in the majority of Malay population, as well as Indians and Siamese in Kelantan. The Chinese population by far showed greatest interest and willingness to participate in the programme. The programme was interrupted by the monsoon season in the month of October and November whereby many candidates were not able to come to HUSM because of the floods. The highest number of participants was the Chinese. This could be due to more Chinese women attending the KFPA clinics as compared to other ethnic groups and they were more health conscious and more aware of the importance of breast screening in breast cancer detection. | | |
| 
 NCR 2003 Report: Breast Cancer is still the top cancer amongst women 
Latest statistics from
the National Cancer Registry (NCR) show
that lung cancer is the most common cancer experienced by men in the country, whilst
breast cancer is the top cancer in women. Lung cancer accounts for 13.8 per cent of cancer cases among men. For women, breast cancer accounts
for 31 per cent of cases. | |
|
