When Suki Cheng felt a lump in one of her breasts in November last year, she was worried but unwilling to see the doctor until April this year.

When she saw a general doctor in late April, she was immediately referred to a specialist surgeon at the Breast Centre of Union Hospital.

By the time she was confirmed to have breast cancer, the lump had grown to about the size of a duck's egg and her conditions was diagnosed to have reached advanced Stage Four. In early May, she received a mastectomy - the surgical removal of her right breast.

"I now understand that I should not have waited, wasting the valuable time that may have otherwise saved my breast," Cheng said.

Why the delay?

She admitted that she was trying to hide the fact that she may have cancer. Seeing a doctor meant she had to face the truth.

According to a recent survey commissioned by the Wacoal Pink Ribbon Campaign, many women are concerned that they may fall victim to the disease and yet as many of them do not perform regular checks on themselves.

The survey, conducted by Health Link Promotions in August and September, polled 512 women aged 18 and above. Over 57 per cent said they were worried that they would fall victim to breast cancer, including some saying they were "extremely worried".

About the same number (52 per cent) acknowledged that it was most important to receive medical checks regularly in order to maintain a healthy condition. Yet, about 64 per cent of the respondents admitted they had not gone for a medical check in the past year.

Over 54 per cent admitted they had not performed self-examination at all during the same period.

The situation is better among younger women, with only 39.7 per cent and 35.8 per cent saying they had not.

The survey revealed that many women were unfamiliar with the skill of self-examination. Only less than 20 per cent of them said they were familiar with the method of performing self-examination properly.

Director of Union Hospital's Breast Centre, Bonita Law, said it was worrying to observe that the incidence rate of breast cancer had almost doubled in the past 10 years, up from an average of 39.3 cases in every 100,000 people in 1991 to 58.1 cases in every 100,000 people in 2001.

"We are seeing some 2,000 new cases a year and many of the new cases have happened in the age group of 40 to 59. It seems that the patients are getting younger," Law said at a press conference announcing the study results.

Cheng agreed, saying she came across a number of breast cancer patients at the hospital and a few of them were only teenagers.

Law said it was important for women to build up the habit of examining themselves regularly. She noticed that in Hong Kong, 60 to 70 per cent of the patients were required to receive a mastectomy whereas in European countries, where a higher level of consciousness was reported, only 30 to 50 per cent of the patients needed to receive this extreme surgery.

She said that being able to detect early could often lead to a better chance of saving the breast.

She urged women in Hong Kong to perform self-examination regularly and watch out for signs that may bode ill (in Cheng's case it was a lump), changes to a nipple, reddish discharge from a nipple, changes in the skin of a breast or persistent and unusual pain in one breast after the normal cycle. The Wacoal Pink Ribbon Campaign was launched with the aim of reducing the number of women losing their breasts because of breast cancer.

(HK Edition 09/28/2004 page2)