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March 8, 2012

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Home » Metro » Health and Science

Breast cancer tops forms among women

BREAST cancer continues to be the most common cancer affecting Shanghai women, according to a new study.

Around 3,800 local women are diagnosed with breast cancer annually - 17.2 percent of the total number of women found to have cancer in Shanghai each year, said officials from Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The center officials were speaking before today's International Women's Day.

Shanghai's incidence of breast cancer has been the highest in China since late 1980s, and has doubled in the past 20 years.

This has been attributed to factors such as an unhealthy lifestyle - including a rich diet and lack of exercise, a reduction in breast feeding, the growing number of elderly people and increased breast cancer screening.

Local CDC experts said obesity is an important factor in breast, colon and thyroid cancers.

It said proper physical exercise is useful in both breast cancer prevention and treatment, following a study of 5,000 local breast cancer patients between 20 and 74 years old.

"The study found exercise is an independent protection factor for survival and high life quality," said Dr Zheng Ying, director of Shanghai CDC's tumor prevention and control department.

"For breast cancer patients, 30 minutes' exercises in line with their own condition is enough and very effective."

According to the study, patients starting exercise within six months of being diagnosed with breast cancer have a 20 percent lower mortality rate than those who don't exercise.

The mortality rate can drop a further 10 percent if patients keep on exercising for 18 months, the survey found.

And if patients keep to the exercise regime for five years, the survival rate can rise another 5 percent.

Zheng said women over 35 years should undergo regular breast cancer screening for early detection.

"The government should further promote breast cancer screening," she said.




 

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