Breast Cancer Screening and Early Detection 乳腺癌筛查和早期检测

I went for my annual doctor's appointment at National Cancer Centre this afternoon. My oncologist Dr Ong Kong Wee was on medical leave, so I was examined by a lovely Dr Hani Trasil.

In year 2011, calcium deposits were discovered in my left breast and a biopsy was performed. Today, 5 years later, I have been given a clean bill of health and discharged.

As there is no family history of cancer, I am in the average risk group. But I still have to perform monthly breast self-examination (BSE) and go for a mammogram every two years.


To fight breast cancer, we must plan to detect the disease in its early stages. Women over 40 years old need to go for a mammogram yearly. Early detection of breast cancer offers the best chance for a cure.

http://eastcoastlife.blogspot.sg/2010/12/eastcoastlife-goes-for-mammogram.html

http://eastcoastlife.blogspot.sg/2011/01/eastcoastlife-goes-to-national-cancer.html

http://eastcoastlife.blogspot.sg/2011/09/eastcoastlifes-mammotome-breast-biopsy.html


今天下午, 我去新加坡全国癌症中心做定期复诊检查。

 2011年体检时照了乳腺的X光，结果发现左边的乳房有细小密集的钙化灶 (指钙在乳腺组织上的沉积，在乳房钼靶上看是一些小白点)。医生建议我进行手术活检。如今，5年过去了，今天医生告知我检查显示一切正常, 以后每年只需定期检查一次就好。

由于自己没有乳癌家族史，我的患病风险等于平均水平。但是，我还是要每月进行乳房自我检查，还有每两年一次的乳房X光检查。

建议40至49岁的妇女每年接受一次乳房X光筛查，照乳癌筛查的指引去做，可以提高早发现和治愈的机会。

EastCoastLife Goes to National Cancer Centre (Singapore) for Advanced Breast Screening

EastCoastLife Goes for a Mammogram

After my mammogram at HPB, 2 weeks later I received a letter asking me to go for further test. I booked an appointment with National Cancer Centre (新加坡全国癌症中心) for an advanced breast screening as a suspicious lump was found in my left breast.

9 out of 10 women who need further tests get normal results.

My appointment was fixed at 9.10 am on 19th January 2011. I was at Clinic B early with my husband. While my husband waited outside, I changed into a gown and watched a video on breast cancer with several ladies who were referred there by clinics all over Singapore.

The ladies were in their 40s, 50s and 60s. Many of them looked worried. Several confessed they cried for days before coming for further tests. We chatted, shared our stories and comforted one another. Some tell stories of people they know who were diagnosed with breast cancer, one already had one breast removed and is now back for a mammogram of the remaining breast. One by one they went for their tests. By lunch time, most of the ladies went home feeling relieved.  

I had my mammogram at 11.25 am and then an ultra-sound scan. The mammogram examination was painful this time but it was tolerable. Dr Jill Wong (Oncologic Imaging) went through the results with me and explained the finding of microcalcifications.

She referred me to Oncologist,  Dr Ong Kong Wee. I was in doubt when I opened his door to find a young surgeon but he turns out to be a godsend.

An oncologist is critical in the life of a cancer patient. He/She must be kind and skilled and an individual with whom a patient can confide and relate. Due to the severe danger of cancer, an oncologist typically has a deeper relationship to his or her patients than most doctors. It is essential to choose the right oncologist who can explain the cancer diagnosis and meaning of the disease stage to the patient; discuss various treatment options; recommend the best course of treatment; deliver optimal care; and improve quality of life both through curative therapy and palliative care with pain and symptom management.

Through my conversations with Dr Ong (before and after my surgery) and observing his commitment to his patients, I know I am in good hands. I find this guide on Doctor-patient relationship helpful.

Dr Ong recommended a Mammotome Breast biopsy and explained to me in detail the procedure. Small samples of tissue are removed from the breast using a hollow needle which is guided precisely to the suspicious lesion via mammogram. (Oh my God! Poking a needle in my breast!?) This will be done in Clinic B.

This procedure is minimally invasive as compared to an open surgical biopsy, and it is performed as an outpatient procedure. It has the ability to sample microcalcifications, making early diagnosis of breast cancer possible. It is done under local anaesthesia and takes about 45 minutes to complete.

At 3 pm, I was sent back to Dr Jill Wong who had me lay down on my stomach and my left breast was tightly clamped into position. I referred to that room as the 'torture chamber' which I was to visit again before my surgery. :P  

Unfortunately, I was not able to do a Mammotome Breast biopsy because the microcalcifications were too close to the skin so I was advised to have an open surgical biopsy.

Thanks to Dr Ong Kong Wee, I was scheduled for the surgery on the following Monday.


Costs (I am a Singapore citizen so I get subsided rates) :
Consultant - Initial visit    S$25 (Full rate S$75)

Mammogram                 )
Ultra-sound Breast         ) both for S$105 (Full rate S$ 217.14)

Next post : Preparing for Surgery at Singapore General Hospital

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Till date, breast cancer is still the number one cancer affecting Singaporean women. It is not a harmless cancer that one can simply ignore.


The incidence of breast cancer is highest among women in their 50s. It is recommended that women aged 50 and older should go for a mammogram screening once every two years.

9 out of 10 women who go to their doctors with breast lumps have a benign disorder, not cancer.

At National Cancer Centre 新加坡全国癌症中心, they adopt a multidisciplinary and holistic approach to cancer treatment.

Tel : 6436 8000

National Cancer Centre Singapore
11 Hospital Drive
Singapore 169610

Main Tel & Fax No
Tel: +65 6436 8000
Fax: +65 6225 6283
 
Operating Hours
Mondays to Fridays : 8:30am to 5:30pm
Saturdays : 8:30am to 12:30pm

I find this site by National Cancer Centre extremely useful :
Frequently Asked Questions about Breast Cancer
 

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Credits : Photos from the net, information from National Cancer Centre