Malaysia And Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Malaysian women from all
ethnicities and it is also the most common cause of cancer death among

women in Malaysia. The disease accounts for 30.4% of newly diagnosed
cancer cases in Malaysian women. The incidence continues to rise as
confirmed by the latest report of the Malaysian National Cancer
Registry (Lim, Halimah, & Lim, 2003). Breast cancer incidence for 2002
is 4,337, compared to 3,825 for the year 2000. The actual number of
women infected by the disease could be higher than the official
figures as many women fail to seek treatment for various reasons.

In many developed nations the disease is prevalent among older women,
but in Malaysia, the first and latest survey reveals that 52.3 percent
of the cases of breast cancer involve women below 50 years of age.
Over one third of the cases are in the pre-menopausal group. The
disease strikes at the time when most working women are still raising
children and establishing themselves in a career. In addition, the
type of cancers that are found in this age group are often more
difficult to treat.

Although, official rates of breast cancer mortality are not known, the
number of deaths reported by a study released in the year 2001 is
cause for alarm. According to the report, in the year 2000 deaths from
the disease totaled 1,707; that is, close to 45 % of the cases result
in death. The actual figure may be higher, owing to the underreporting
of cases and

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