Breast cancer awareness in Russia

A Breast Health Program for Irkutsk, Russia

The Problem: Breast cancer is especially lethal for women living in Russia. In fact, almost every second woman in Russia diagnosed with breast cancer dies (average survival time is five years), while five-year survival rate for American women is greater than 90 percent. According to a recent article in the Russian medical journal Mammology, between 1995 and 2002 breast cancer incidence in Russia increased 16.1 percent, an increase of approximately 2.3 percent per year.

Compounding the high incidence of the disease is the fact that many breast cancer cases are diagnosed at later stages in Russia, contributing to low survivability rates. More than 40 percent of breast cancer cases in Russia are diagnosed in advanced stages three and four, compared to about five percent in the U.S. in the same stage of the disease. Due to late-stage diagnosis of breast cancers, many Russian women identify their condition as a “death sentence." Clearly, local women fear breast cancer diagnosis and prefer “not to find out” if there is a problem.

A public education strategy that empowers women and emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis and “survivability” of breast cancer is lacking in Russia. Dr. Victoria Dvornichenko, medical director and chief oncologist at the Irkutsk Regional Oncology Center, states, “Early diagnosis of breast cancer in the region can be greatly improved through health professionals and community education about the benefits of early detection and screening. Such programs are critical for improving breast cancer mortality rates in our region.”

A Willingness to Change: Fortunately, attitudes are slowly starting to change. Baikal Cancer Society (BCS), the first non-profit organization in Siberia dedicated to cancer control, was founded in the city of Irkutsk in 2001 with help from the American Cancer Society and Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. The city of Irkutsk is located at mid-point of the Trans-Siberian Railroad, approximately 50 miles east of Lake Baikal and 3,000 miles (five time zones) east of Moscow. According to a nationwide 2002 Russia Demographic Census, more than 1.4 million women live in the Irkutsk region and almost 600,000 live in the city of Irkutsk.

Baikal Cancer Society and Angara Women’s Union recently initiated work with the local community on early breast cancer detection programs, including publishing educational brochures on breast self-exam and holding seminars and workshops on breast cancer. In addition, a support and volunteer network for breast cancer survivors in the region also isbeing developed. Angara’s president, Albina Shirobokova, PhD, has requested MWI’s guidance in both the development of effective educational materials and in the development of a public education strategy for working with breast health educators to improve outreach strategies and methodologies.

The Plan: Years of silence about breast cancer have taken their toll on the women of Russia. The fear of finding something suspicious or the diagnosis of cancer often keeps Russian women from seeking screening services. To challenge society’s silence on breast cancer, Magee Womancare International (MWI), Baikal Cancer Society, and Angara Women’s Union have designed "It's All About You," an initiative to strengthen breast cancer education, outreach, and screening services in Irkutsk, Russia.

The overall goal of “It’s All About You” was to raise awareness of the importance of early screening and diagnosis of breast cancer among health professionals and women in the Irkutsk region. MWI worked with 70 local health professionals to educate and inform their colleagues and community members, and to better understand breast health and the value of early detection.

(source:international.mwrif.org/)