Giving birth and breastfeeding during childbearing age reduces the risk of breast cancer

Prof. Dr. Güldeniz Karadeniz Çakmak, Head of the Department of General Surgery at Zonguldak Bülent Ecevit University (BEUN), told an AA reporter that breast cancer is the most common type of cancer in women worldwide and is among the leading cancer cases in Türkiye.

Çakmak emphasized that it is possible to treat more than 90 percent of patients, especially those diagnosed early, and noted that women should be included in the screening programs implemented free of charge by the Ministry of Health.

Çakmak explained that every woman should begin self-examining herself in her 20s, have a yearly checkup with a doctor starting at age 40, and participate in a mammography screening program, allowing for early diagnosis, allowing doctors to treat the vast majority of patients.

Çakmak pointed out that they can perform surgeries on patients diagnosed early without removing the entire breast as in the past, and that they can treat this disease by minimizing the possibility of arm swelling, which is seen after removing all the lymph nodes under the arm, defined as one of the most important complications of surgical treatment.

Çakmak stated that every woman's cancer is unique, adding, "Therefore, the most important key to success is to have the treatments of our patients diagnosed with breast cancer discussed and designed in tumor councils formed by multidisciplinary teams, which are accepted and implemented worldwide."

Çakmak reminded that tumor biology-based treatments are applied individually to each woman, and that tumor biology-related treatment choices also strengthen patients' chances of survival.

Emphasizing the importance of breastfeeding and childbirth in reducing the risk of breast cancer, Çakmak noted that hormones are an important risk factor for this disease, continuing as follows:

"Exposure to the hormone we define as estrogen, among these hormones, appears to increase the risk of breast cancer. Giving birth and breastfeeding during childbearing age reduces our risk of breast cancer by reducing our exposure to estrogen and allowing the cells in the mammary glands to fully mature. Therefore, as physicians, we advise all women of childbearing age to give birth and breastfeed."

Çakmak stated that it is possible to reduce breast cancer risk by up to 30 percent by modifying changeable risk factors in life, and emphasized the importance of eating healthy, exercising, avoiding cigarettes and alcohol, avoiding obesity, giving up a sedentary lifestyle (without physical activity), giving birth, and breastfeeding in order to reduce risk.

Çakmak reminded that, although rare, breast cancer is also seen in men in different parts of the world, at a rate of one in every 100 cases, and added that men should consult a doctor without delay if they have a palpable mass in their breast or if there is a change in shape or color.