We are more than breasts

I find myself thinking about what I want to say next in this blog. Personal stories come to mind, observations from my wee corner of the earth, and things in the media and news all trigger different streams of thought. I’ve decided that today I will recount a story shared at the last world conference that really touched me. It was a talk given by a doctor and a survivor from a nation in Africa.

The speakers talked about the challenges they face in changing the stereotypical view of a breast cancer diagnosis and in getting to women to encourage early detection (which we all know is a key to successful treatment). The doctor stated that when a woman inadvertently finds a lump in her breast she often would not seek medical treatment because she automatically assumes that a breast cancer diagnosis is an instant death sentence. Given the late stage that a lump is so obviously detected, treatment would often be extreme, which has other more far reaching consequences due to the cultural significance of breasts and fertility and how that defines a woman.

The tools that the developed World used to aide in early detection, like a mammography machine, are not common place in most developing nations. The expense of this equipment imposes further barriers. The doctor sited that a mammography machine could be $1 million dollars. A mosquito net is $1 dollar. When 1 in 5 people die from malaria in his country the choice is obvious. 1 million mosquito nets – not 1 mammography machine.

Education and awareness becomes the only weapon in the arsenal to fight breast cancer to ensure woman can find their cancer early and then seek rapid treatment. The cultural shift is a greater obstacle – I learned that the deep rooted views on fertility and motherhood are such an important thread in the fabric of life. Somehow, we need to weave in a new thread that reinforces that a woman is so much more and can provide the love, care and contribution to her family and society with or without breasts.