KUCHING: The risk of Malaysian women developing breast cancer has risen to one in 23, compared with one in 27 previously, says Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
She said that based on the Malaysian National Cancer Registry Report for 2012-2016 and 2017-2021, breast cancer remains the most common cancer among women in the country.
“More concerning, the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2023 found that 71% of women aged 40 and above have never undergone a mammogram, while 46% do not practise breast self- examination.
“This low screening rate complicates early detection efforts, even though the survival rate for patients detected at an early stage can reach 95%,” she said at the Sarawak state-level Breast Cancer Awareness Month event yesterday.
Nancy said that to widen access to early breast cancer screening, the government, through the National Population and Family Development Board, has introduced the Mammogram Examination Subsidy Programme since 2007.
She said the programme was later strengthened and rebranded to WeCaRe, which encompasses awareness of breast and cervical cancer among women.
As of Sept 30, she said, 598,919 women in Malaysia have benefited from the programme, including 90,075 women in Sarawak, with 88 of them testing positive for cancer.
Previously, the Prime Minister’s wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had urged for the access to early breast cancer screening to be expanded, particularly in rural areas, to improve early detection, as 50.5% of cases in Malaysia are diagnosed at Stages Three and Four.
She said the effort required the involvement of individuals, families, communities and employers, including the use of technology to make screening more accessible to women.
She said a whole-of-nation approach should be adopted, involving all segments of society regardless of age and gender, alongside closer cooperation between government agencies and non-governmental organisations to ensure that awareness campaigns and subsidies reach the target groups.
Dr Wan Azizah also suggested that Malaysia learn from Sweden’s approach of conducting annual screenings, as well as Japan’s practice of ensuring that employers provide female employees with time and facilities to undergo breast examinations.
