Breast cancer, in Italy over 3,800 new cases per year in women under 35

There is a worrying youth incidence of breast cancer in Italy. Every year 11% of new cases are diagnosed in patients under the age of 45. 7%, equal to 3,800 new diagnoses per year, are identified before the age of 35. Often insidious diseases from which it is however possible to recover, maintaining a good quality of life during and after treatment. These are some of the themes at the center of the 41st National Congress of Andos, the National Association of Breast Operated Women, hosted in recent days in Barletta.

Tumors: in Italy over 3,800 new cases of breast cancer per year among women under 35

The event represents a moment of discussion between all the actors involved in the management of most frequent oncology disease in our country: patients, oncologists, radiation oncologists, nurses, physiotherapists and psycho-oncologists. Contributions from artists and art historians are also expected. «In recent decades – underlines Flori Degrassi, national president of Andos – treatments against breast cancer have undergone a great evolution. In particular, in the past surgical interventions were very destructive and disabling from both a physical and psychological point of view. Treatments have evolved and are now less invasive. However, the discovery and subsequent experience of cancer continue to be very difficult moments for a woman, especially if she is still young.”

«We must be able to guarantee a good quality of life for our patients – continues Saverio Cinieri, president of the Aiom Foundation – Italian Association of Medical Oncology. «Breast cancer – he highlights – is the most frequent cancer in young women and represents 40% of all cancers occurring in women up to the age of 49. Today we are able to successfully deal with almost all cases of the pathology, even the metastatic ones which affect over 37,000 women in our country. More targeted and effective drugs, notable diagnostic-therapeutic progress, better integration between different therapies and greater knowledge of the individual characteristics of different carcinomas are all factors that have led to undeniable progress. Overall survival has increased and now stands at 88%».

Furthermore, adds Cinieri, «in the last decade mortality decreased in all age groups but especially in women under 50. A reduction also determined thanks to greater diffusion of mammographic screening programs for early diagnosis and a greater multidisciplinary approach to the disease. The very choice of treatments to be administered must take into account many parameters, not least the psycho-physical situation of the patient.”

«Good quality of life during and after treatment does not just mean limiting the side effects of the therapies as much as possible – claims Flori Degrassi -. She also wants to protect and defend the external image of a woman, because cancer can cause depression and mistrust in the future and therefore relational, social and work problems. These reactions are very frequent in a patient under 35 who, for age reasons, does not expect to have to face an illness which, in the common perception, affects an older age. Epidemiological data disprove this false belief and qualified psychological support for patients and their families may also be necessary.” Like Andos, concludes the president, «we have already activated psychological assistance initiatives in various places in Italy. Speaking with a psychologist or with the association’s volunteers can help overcome communication and relational difficulties and facilitate a full return to life. For a patient, especially after surgery, it is essential to recover a positive perception of herself, of her femininity and also of her sexuality. Even in this way it is possible to definitively defeat an oncological disease.”

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