Breast cancer screening in Terwinselen

Because of coronavirus, several measures have been taken to ensure safe screening within COVID guidelines.

About one in seven women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Most are over the age of 50. That's why all women ages 50 through 75 receive an invitation to the breast cancer screening program. Thanks to this free population screening, between 850 and 1075 fewer women die of breast cancer each year.

Alderman Leo Jongen (Public Health): "If you receive an invitation, please be sure to make an appointment and increase the chances of early detection of cancer. In fact, early detection significantly increases the chance of cure."

A story from Kerkrade: "I never thought they would find anything with me."

Some women choose not to go. Other women, on the contrary, go every time. So does a resident of Kerkrade. She tells how important the research has been for her. "I never thought they would find anything in me," she begins her story. "Three years ago, I was 63 at the time, I received another call to come to the bus. For me, it was now a habit to go."

Quite a scare

This time, however, things went differently: "A week after I had been on the bus, my family doctor was at the door. The picture they had taken showed a tumor in my breast." After that, everything went very quickly: "On Monday I got the news, by Wednesday I was already in the hospital." Of course, that was quite a scare. "You think 'it skips me, it only happens to someone else'. And then suddenly it's your turn."

Happiness

The malignant tumor was removed from her breast and she has since recovered. "I wasn't bothered by anything beforehand, never felt anything. The surgeon said it was my luck that I got on the bus. If the tumor had been discovered a few months later, they probably would have had to amputate my breast."

Additional health check

That's why she would urge other women to go to the bus. "It costs you nothing, at most a little time. My story shows how important it is to go."
She does stress, however, that going to the bus is no guarantee. "Of course going to the bus every two years is not a guarantee that you can't get breast cancer, think of it as an extra health check offered to you."

Barely ten minutes

She herself has never had a reason not to go to the bus, but she understands that some women look up to the examination. "Everyone experiences it differently, of course. It's true that your breast is flattened and it's not a pleasant feeling."
"But," she points out, "that's only for a moment. And what do those few minutes of discomfort outweigh the late detection of breast cancer? It takes barely ten minutes and the ladies on the bus are very friendly and professional."

Learn more

You can find more information about the breast cancer population screening at www.bevolkingsonderzoeknederland.nl
Our information line can also be reached on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. by calling 088 00 01 388.

Do you have symptoms, such as a lump in the breast? If so, always contact your doctor as soon as possible. This applies to women of all ages.