Shafaq News / October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and the 21st of it marks a global health day to raise awareness of the disease, with memories and nostalgia for loved ones who have left after not finding recovery, and other memories mixed with tears of joy, fears of breast cancer continue.
Breast Cancer is the most common cancer, with more than 2.2 million cases recorded in 2020.
Nearly one in every 12 women develop breast cancer, the leading cause of cancer deaths among women.
According to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), in 2020 alone, 685,000 women died because of it, according to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.).
Most cases and deaths of Breast Cancer occur in low- and middle-income countries.
March 8 is a memorable day of Um Ali's harsh memories. She told Shafaq News agency about how she developed Breast Cancer and recovered from it. She indicated that she always felt pain and discomfort in her left breast until the tumor increased, "My cancer was discovered after it reached its third stage, the most dangerous stage. The moment I knew, my life changed to continuous anxiety."
"I cannot forget how I started losing my hair, my pale face, losing a part of my body, and the radiotherapy that followed," she said, pointing to the duration of healing that took a year and a half until she started feeling well again.
As for Doaa, she passed away, leaving a weeping mother who did not expect, as she told Shafaq News agency, to part with her beautiful daughter, "Doaa was at the beginning of her college career, but she could not turn her dreams into reality after she developed Breast Cancer."
Symptoms of Breast Cancer
"Breast cancer affects all ages at the moment, due to the lack of proper food, psychological condition, and the remnants of war," Dr. Khadija al-Waeli told Shafaq News agency, calling on women of all ages to conduct breast cancer screening.
"The symptoms include thickening or nodes in the breast during examination, change in the position of the nipple, change in the size of the breast, as well as abnormal texture," she said, stressing that "psychological state is a pivotal factor in the patient's condition."
"Breast Cancer has several stages. The first is a tumor inside the cell and can be treated through early detection. In the second stage, the tumor spreads to nearby tissues and lymph nodes, the survival rate in this stage is 90%. The third stage is dangerous: the tumor reaches the lymph glands and armpit. Survival rates are lower and depend on the patient's immunity system," al-Waeli added.
Saif al-Badr, the spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Health, stated to Shafaq News agency that there has been an increase in cases of Breast Cancer in line with the population increase.
Iraq's population for 2020 is 40 million, according to Planning Ministry spokesman Abdul Zahra al-Hindawi.
Pink Ribbon
The first link between the use of pink ribbon and Breast Cancer was in the fall of 1991, when the Susan G. Komen Foundation distributed pink ribbons to participants in a New York City race for breast cancer survivors.
The pink ribbon was adopted as the official symbol of World Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 1992.
Wearing a pink wristband is an indication of a person with Breast Cancer, i.e., "Keep your distance, I have breast cancer".
