What is the screening?
The screening is the method by which a person is investigated to detect the presence of breast cancer before this person has cancer symptoms.
The screening helps early detection of cancer before it is at an advanced stage. When the tumour tissue is discovered early, treatment is more effective and easier to apply. Since the onset of cancer symptoms, chances are that cancer cells have spread throughout the body.
Currently, ongoing studies aim to find the people who are predisposed to certain types of cancer. Also, these studies investigate both the environmental and lifestyle factors that can trigger breast cancer.
This information helps the doctor determine the category of people who needs to participate in the screening, as well as the type of screening that needs to be used and the frequency with which this screening is to be performed.
If the doctor recommends a screening test for breast cancer, it is very important for the person undergoing screening to understand that the doctor recommends this screening without considering that the person has cancer. Screening tests are performed in people who do not have cancer symptoms. If the result of screening tests is not within normal limits, further testing is needed to determine if the person has cancer or not. These additional tests are called diagnostic tests.
What is the role of family doctor in breast cancer screening?
The family doctor is the first step in the senologic assessment. He will examine the breast and recommend further investigations. A woman should contact the family doctor once a year for a general evaluation. At that time, the family doctor will indicate her a set of general tests: blood, urination, cervical cancer screening, senologic assessment, an ultrasound or mammography, depending on the age of the patient, and other investigations of the symptoms she has.
Thus, the role of the family doctor is extremely important because he has to establish a breast-tracking protocol, both in a young patient and in a patient over 40 years old or in an elderly woman. The family doctor may refer women to mammography and ultrasound free of charge, in the instance in which he can assess the presence of a formation through palpation, or the women he wishes to have a screening check-up.
In urban areas, as a result of higher education, women are addressing more often to the doctor, thus preventing cancer or early diagnosis. Unfortunately, in rural areas, addressability to the family doctor is greatly reduced, and as a result, the proportion of breast cancer in these women is higher.