Women Above 70 Can Still Get Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women of all ages. Elderly women are at higher risk of having cancer due to late detection of early signs of breast cancer.

According to United States National Cancer Institute, the chances of being diagnosed with cancer increases as women's age increase. Statistics show that women of age 50 have 2.38 percent of developing cancer, followed by 3.56 percent and 3.82 percent for ages 60 and 70 respectively.

Breast cancer is treatable if detected early. However, a survey done by Public Health England shows that 52 percent of women older than 70 only know one symptom of breast cancer, which is the presence of lump on the breast, BBC reports.

To increase breast cancer awareness, a campaign was launched to promote self-screening. This is because there are other early signs of breast cancer such as a change in size of the breast, dimpling on the skin, and rash around the nipple area. 

Since prevention is better than cure, preventing breast cancer by living a healthy lifestyle even among women above 70 years old is also encouraged. According to NHS Choices, having a healthy diet such, as avoiding alcoholic beverages and regular exercise, such as a small run, can reduce the chance of developing cancer up to 30 percent. 

The breast awareness campaign will not only promote self-screening and a healthier lifestyle among elderly women but it will also push the government to give better screening programs. Currently, the screening program done by the government is only targeting a certain age group.

The screening is a necessary step in detecting breast cancer at its early stages. A mammographic screening on the patient to detect the presence of cancerous cells or tumor inside the breast comprises the bulk of the screening program. Experts advice that breast cancer screening be done at least once every three years.

Women with breast cancer can avail of lots of treatment options nowadays. Current treatments for cancer, according to NHS Choices, include chemotherapy, where drugs are used to kill the cells and removing the cancerous cells through surgery. There two types of surgery to treat breast cancer, either lumpectomy wherein the cancerous lump is removed, or mastectomy which removes the whole breast. Other breast cancer treatment options are radiotherapy, hormone treatment and biological therapy.