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Every year, nearly 25,000 women in the Philippines are reported to be diagnosed with breast cancer, and more than 8,000 of these cases end in death. According to the GLOBOCAN 2018 report, breast cancer ranks as the third deadliest in the country.
But not all breast cancers are the same. Delving into this deadly disease, it will be found that there are certain types of breast cancer. According to Dr. Rubi Li, a medical oncologist and member of the Philippine Society of Medical Oncologists (PSMO), “By knowing the type of breast cancer, one can determine how aggressive it is, whether there are certain targeting genes, and ultimately, determine the best way to treat a patient – you’d have a better treatment plan to adhere to to get the most optimal treatment. “
There are currently 3 basic molecular subtypes of breast cancer. The most common types of breast cancer cases are patients with cancers sensitive to hormones (1) Luminal A and (2) Luminal B. Second, patients diagnosed with what are called Her2NEu or HER2-enriched cancers can get better results with certain types of treatment than with others.
The most aggressive type is triple negative breast cancer (TNBC), which tends to be seen in the younger population and can be potentially more difficult to treat than the other types. Dr. Li describes TNBC as a cancer with no “targets to attack,” where the other types of cancers have more obvious genes that can be targeted by common breast cancer treatment options.
Although Dr. Li cautions that TNBC symptoms tend to manifest in a similar way to other types of breast cancer, a more accurate way to find out whether or not one has this type is through a comprehensive breast panel test. This test helps determine the presence of three genes that can be targeted and treated by the most common drugs for breast cancer and can help create a treatment plan for patients with breast cancer.
But as the “new normal” adage about cancer goes, cancer is no longer a death sentence. This applies to breast cancer, even its most aggressive subtype.
“Breast cancer is curable in its early stages, and even when the cancer has spread, it is still treatable,” recalls a hopeful Dr. Li.
Treatments for triple negative breast cancer have increased along with significant knowledge about the disease, and medical experts can now determine and prescribe more treatment options.
To help Filipino women learn more about this disease, MSD’s Hope From Within in the Philippines is expanding the reach of its initiative to the country’s breast cancer patients with the #BCWeCan campaign – an information and awareness campaign about the disease. breast cancer, particularly triple negative breast cancer, which aims to empower cancer patients and caregivers to become more involved in the cancer patient journey with the help of a step-by-step guide.
