The director of SeNaSa, Dr. Santiago Hazim, said that making an early diagnosis of any type of disease will allow healthcare teams to choose the best therapeutic schemes, which translates into better chances of cure, less suffering for patients and their families and lower costs.
“The fact that in these first 9 months of 2023 we have 13,486 people registered in SeNaSA with a diagnosis of breast cancer in the different regimens and plans, indicates to us that more and more people are taking care of themselves. That is why we are not going to get tired of providing guidance, because without this we cannot work on the prevention of our affiliates and the population in general,” said Dr. Hazim.
The official explained that “this year we have 4% more affiliates diagnosed with breast cancer when compared to the same time in 2022, when we registered 12,995 affiliates. And we emphasize this percentage because it allows us to insist that we must, from now on, make changes in our lives, have a healthier diet, exercise, go to the doctor periodically and follow his guidelines and, if you have a family member who has had cancer or risk factors, you should follow the indications of your doctor”.
Of the 13,486 members diagnosed with breast cancer from January to September, 12,975 were women and 511 were men, “demonstrating that this disease does not distinguish between gender or age. This group of members demanded 716,813 health services so far this year”.
Another element highlighted by Hazim is that, “men, despite being less diagnosed, demanded a significant amount of health services, which indicates that they are also thinking about taking care of their health. This care is what makes the difference, as well as knowing that they have an ARS that responds to their needs and is there for all its members”.
The ages with the greatest impact correspond to people in the range of 50 and over, who represent 65% of the total population with a presumed diagnosis. This is followed by the 15 to 49 age range, a young and young adult population. He emphasized that “before the age of 40, clinical guidelines do not establish the performance of routine screening studies, such as mammography or sonomammography for early detection. However, there are exceptions to this rule, such as family members with a history, carrying the gene that predisposes to the development of the disease or feeling a nodule during breast self-examination”.
She insisted on the importance of having a routine check-up to take care of our health.
Source: presidencia.gov.do
