SINGAPORE: Colorectal cancer is the most common cancer affecting men and the second most common among women in Singapore. So it might surprise some to learn that more women are diagnosed with breast cancer than all the men and women with colorectal cancer combined.
Breast cancer incidence in Singapore has more than tripled over the past 50 years, to 74 cases per 100,000 women – one of the highest in Asia. About 2,500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually and it is the most common cause of cancer deaths in women.
With breast cancer so common, many have friends and relatives with breast cancer, women are keenly aware that they face a real risk. But does knowing this motivate more women to go for screening mammograms?
This doesn’t seem to be the case. In 2021, only about one-third of women between 50 and 69 years old reported that they had gone for a mammography within the last two years, according to the National Population Health Survey 2021.
WHY WOMEN ARE RELUCTANT TO GO FOR MAMMOGRAMS
Is it a question of reducing the financial barrier to screening?
The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced last year that those who enrol under Healthier SG – the national healthcare strategy with a focus on preventive care – will benefit from free recommended health screenings (including for breast cancer).
Under the national Screen for Life, there is already an established breast cancer screening programme since 2002 (also known as BreastScreen Singapore, BSS). It is supported by public healthcare specialists and subsidised by MOH for women of the recommended age for screening (40 years and above).