Breast cancer is a malignant disease, representing 25% of all malignity in women population, and for men, the risk of getting breast cancer is about 1:1000. Being aware of the importance of the education and early prevention, we have joined the official campaign for the fight against breast cancer in Montenegro, organized by NGO MoMSICand marketing agency Prava priča.
Our first step was a Bild Studio football match between Steel Cobras and Black Mambas. Our footballers put on pink socks, the official color of the global campaign to fight breast cancer, and played the game. You can read all about it on our blog: Protect your ladies, just as we protect ours.
On Wednesday, 26th of October we organized a presentation in our office, where Emilija Delević from NGO MoMSIC reminded us of the importance of preventive action and the fact that early detection of breast cancer significantly increases our chances of survival. Later on, Dr. Luka Čaveliš answered all our questions, advised us and conducted a free palpatory examination, for all working women and female friends from our agency.
Although the cause of the disease has not yet been determined, it is possible to single out several factors that fall into risky behavior that we can control: overweight, smoking, alcohol, menopausal hormone therapy and late pregnancy.
Unfortunately, reproductive health is still a taboo topic in Montenegro, and women are not sufficiently motivated to take care about their health for various reasons: lack of awareness of the problem, lack of time, a fast way of life. The result is a late detection of breast cancer in an advanced stage in over 75% of cases. This negative trend is gradually decreasing and in the last, two to three years and women are addressing the doctor earlier and discovering the disease in its initial stages.
During the presentation we were explained the proper way for self-examination and the doctor pointed out breast changes, for which it is necessary to see a doctor, as soon as possible. These changes can be benign, but a doctor is the only one competent to detect what kind of problem it is. Palpatory examination, done by Dr. Luka Čaveliš, ended all our anxieties, confirming that none of our female colleagues has breast change that needed to be further investigated. The common conclusion is that it depends on us whether we will consider breast cancer as a bogey we need to run away from, or something we can confront with continuous prevention.
We are very grateful to Emilija Delević and Dr. Luka Čaveliš for the time that they have spent with us and patience they had for solving all our doubts.
Something that we can all do is to take preventive actions and reduce prejudice about breast cancer as a disease we cannot control. It was a great pleasure for us to be a part of this campaign, by providing free promotional material and taking a part in educational activities, and all with one cause – to make a joint effort to change the statistics in favor of women!
