Oncologist Sutjipto from the Dharmais Cancer Hospital in Central Jakarta said Tuesday the latest case he handled was a 21-year-old woman who had late-stage breast cancer.
"It is quite shocking considering people over 35 are the most prone to breast cancer," he told a media conference held by the Jakarta Breast Health Foundation (YKPJ).
Sutjipto, who is also one of the founders of the foundation, said the phenomenon was partly due to unhealthy lifestyles, including smoking and alcohol consumption among young women.
"I am not saying these are the only causes (of breast cancer in young women) because many factors can lead someone to developing breast cancer at such an early age, but it can be triggered by an unhealthy lifestyle," he said.
He pointed to the fact the number of female smokers had increased faster than that of male smokers; posing a double risk to women who are naturally susceptible to breast cancer.
"Men also have the possibility of developing breast cancer but the percentage is lower (than that of women). In 2006, one out of 100 people suffering from breast cancer was male," he said.
Apart from unhealthy lifestyles, breast cancer can be triggered by a number of other factors, including genetic hereditary and the use of hormonal birth controls, he added.
"If one of your parents or grandparents has ever suffered from breast cancer, there is a bigger possibility that you will also suffer from the same disease than someone without such history.
"While the hereditary factor cannot be prevented, people can fight against breast cancer by not using hormonal birth control pills or injections. They should choose spiral birth control instead," he said.
Sutjipto said he was seeing more new breast cancer patients now than he was 5 years ago.
"In 2003, the hospital received an average of five new patients a month, but now the average has increased to 30 a month."
Data from the hospital shows there was a 2.3 percent increase in the number of breast cancer cases, to 439 in 2006 from 334 in the previous year. The number accounted for around 30 percent of all cancer cases in the hospital.
Breast cancer is the second most prevalent cancer in Indonesia after cervical cancer. Globally, according to a 2006 report by the World Health Organization, breast cancer is the fifth most common fatal cancer after lung cancer, gastric cancer, liver cancer and colon cancer.
He said only a small number of cancer sufferers were ever diagnosed with the disease.
He implied that the increase in the number of patients being treated at the hospital did not mean there more people suffering from the disease.
"In the past, people tended to not discuss breast cancer but now they are more open about it and more inclined to seek immediate medical treatment if they discover something different about their breasts," he said.
While patients of breast cancer in the early stages can recover through surgery that costs around Rp 10 million (around US$1,000), those suffering with later stages of the cancer will require expensive treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Breast cancer is characterized by breast pain or a painful lump in the breast tissue, an abnormal excretion of fluid and unusual changes in shape and size of the breast.
"That's why it's important for women to conduct regular self-examinations or have a routine mammogram, so the disease can be detected in the early stages," said Linda Agum Gumelar, chief of the advisory board of the YKPJ.
The YKPJ has launched its annual free magazine Pita Pink (pink ribbon, the color and logo for the breast cancer awareness campaign), which has been distributed to hospitals and women's groups to raise public awareness about the disease and its treatment. (12)
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