Mount Alvernia Hospital's 1st Annual Medical Conference

21 Feb 2004

By Dr Balaji Sadasivan

Venue: Mount Alvernia Hospital

Introduction

I am happy to be here today at Mount Alvernia Hospital's 1st Annual Medical Conference.

Breast Cancer - a public health concern

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer and cancer deaths among women worldwide. Every year, there are about 1 million new cases of breast cancer.

In Singapore, breast cancer is also a cause of concern. Its incidence rate has nearly tripled over the last 30 years from 20 per 100,000 population in the late sixties to 59 per 100,000 population for the years 1998 -1999. The mortality rate from breast cancer has also increased from 13.9 per 100,000 population to 15.3 per 100,000 population. This means that every year about 700 women are diagnosed with breast cancer and 200 women die from it.

We do not know what causes breast cancer, but we know the risk factors associated with it. If you are a woman above 50 years of age, you have an increased risk of breast cancer. Low parity, late age at first pregnancy, early menarche and late menopause are other risk factors. With our ageing population, low birth rates and increasing age of first pregnancies, breast cancer in Singapore will continue to increase.

National Breast Screening Programme

Today, medical science has no answer to the "how" to prevent breast cancer. However, women at risk can go for mammography screening to detect breast cancer at an early stage even before it is palpable. Organised population based mammography screening programmes in the United Kingdom, Australia and the Nordic countries have reported reduction in breast cancer mortality by as much as 30%, mainly in women aged 50 years and above.

Singapore is the first Asian country to implement a population based mammography screening programme. A National Breast Screening Programme, BreastScreen Singapore was launched in Jan 2002. The Programme specifically targets women aged 50 to 64 years through personal invitation letters. As an incentive for women to go for breast cancer screening, 50% subsidy is given to those who go for screening in the polyclinics.

Since the launch of the BreastScreen Programme, about 45,000 women have been screened in the polyclinics. Around 50% of those screened were in their 40s and the other 50% were aged 50 years and above. Through this program, 190 cancers were detected.

For the National Breast Screening Programme to be successful in reducing deaths among Singaporean women, we need to ensure that at least 70% of the women in the target age groups attend regular screening.

Increase Uptake of Mammography Screening

Mount Alvernia Hospital has been active in promoting breast screening by participating in the Breast Awareness Month for the past three years and providing reduced rates to all women attending breast screening during that month. I urge more organizations, workplaces and community groups to collaborate with my Ministry in our national effort to reduce breast cancer deaths in women.

Studies have shown that advice and encouragement from medical professionals result in women going for screening. As health professionals, you are in a position to encourage your patients to go for screening and address any fears or anxieties that they may have. With your help, I am confident that the National Breast Screening Programme will achieve the target of screening 70% of women in the target groups by 2008.

Conclusion

I congratulate Mount Alvernia Hospital for organizing their 1st Annual Medical Conference which brings together medical specialists from the private and public sectors to share their knowledge and expertise.

I wish all of you a successful meeting.