The cause of pandemic, women are reluctant to be controlled for breast cancer

But breast control programmes, as well as breast surgery, have been suspended in March, as the University Clinical Centre of Kosovo has focused resources on treatment of pandemic. Only emergency cases have been handled.

With the release of services in the past three months, says Kurtishi, there are rising numbers of women being reported as new cases.

“during 2020, in the January-September period there were 250 new breast cancer cases, until last year there were about 15 percent more. As far as breast operations are concerned, they have been postponed during pandemic times. The interventions were conducted mainly in private hospitals. These operations have been suspended at QKU due to the pandemic with COVID-19”, he says.

Victory Zenel from Prizren during the pandemic had to cope with chemotherapy. This was operated after last year, since she was touched by breast cancer. The difficulties he has experienced at the Oncological Institute have not been few.

During my pandemic, doctors have told me I shouldn't risk taking chemotherapy in March because of my pandemic. But I went because this is protocol and I didn't interrupt. I've also made radiation. Normally with gloves and mask. I went to the police to get special permission because of the movement restrictions. It was dangerous, but I couldn't wait for the months”, she says.

The treatment of malignant diseases is done in three links, surgically, through medical oncological treatment and radiation treatment. All three forms also take place in Kosovo.

How much has awareness campaigns affected women?

But outside the pandemic, women in Kosovo are delayed by breast control, when the disease has advanced to the third and fourth stages, says Oknologist Kurtishi.

The fact that in 2019 and 2020 there are more than the previous years and breast cancer is discovered in early stages, indicates that consciousness is better than many years ago. Yet, still, the situation is alarming, as many females with breast cancer are notified in the third and fourth stage, when the disease is advanced”, Kurtish says.

breast cancer, diagnosed at a later stage, may be more difficult to treat.

Otherwise, October is the month of awareness of breast cancer. In Kosovo, campaigns have been made to conscious women to do frequent checks so that the disease can be discovered over time.

But how much such campaigns have affected women, they speak for themselves.

I don't often do checks, until when you see advertising as an awareness campaign, you remember to have to be checked by a doctor. It means I don't do the checks regularly because I don't need to, actually 41 years, but this is how I feel”, said Life Latifi, citizen of Pristina.

But, in contrast to Life, Sunday Hoxha, 39-year-old from Pristina, says that conscious campaigns, but media campaigns, have no doubt had results, so that it is regular in checks, precisely because of information that the number of women affected by breast cancer is on the rise.

And I'm sure that conscious campaigns have greatly influenced me to do breast cancer prevention. Also, exercise self - control. I can say that listening to numerous breast cancer cases, such as the frequent disease of women, especially in recent years that have become very frequent, has made me more cautious. But even media have played a big role, especially electronic media, since we have more access to information. This has made me regular in checks, especially of Bay”, she said.

During 2019, there have been 380 new breast cancer cases until this year, according to Oncologist Kurtishi, the number of women diagnosed with cancer will be about 320 sosh, according to estimates.

At the same time, from the overall number of cancer patients in Kosovo, breast cancer leads women until the male lung, the average age of the affected, is about 50.

Worldwide research and data presented by the National Cancer Board in Kosovo are said to have 14 million new cases of cancer in the world, until it is predicted by 2030, the number of cancer cases to reach 21.7 million.