October every year is commemorated in Countries across the world as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and all efforts are devoted to increasing attention and support for the awareness, early detection and treatment as well as palliative care of this disease.
By 2018 there was a projected estimate of 2.1 million newly diagnosed female breast cancer cases, accounting for almost 1 in 4 cancer cases among women, which lead to about 627 000 deaths. The disease is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in the vast majority of the countries and is also the leading cause of cancer death in over 100 countries including Nigeria. In Nigeria, there were 26 310 new cases of breast cancer, with 11 564 deaths recorded. (IARC Globocan, 2018). These statistics make breast cancer by far the most common cancer in women worldwide, both in the developed and developing countries. In low- and middle-income countries the incidence has been rising up steadily in the last couple of years due to increasing urbanization and adoption of western lifestyles.
Currently, there is not sufficient knowledge about exact causes of breast cancer; therefore, early detection of the disease and commencement of treatment remain cornerstones of breast cancer control. If breast cancer is detected early, and adequate treatments are available, there is a good chance that breast cancer can be cured. The majority of deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, where most women with breast cancer are diagnosed in late stages due mainly to lack of awareness about early detection, and barriers to health services.
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