Contribution to the Screening and Early Detection in Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is a public health issue in Uruguay. The Law 16.097 declared the national interest to fight against cancer and created the Honorary Commission to Fight Against Cancer- CHLCC. One of its tasks is to coordinate and develops programs for prevention and early detection. On 1992, an education campaign about the importance of early detection in breast cancer began. Six years later a program was created for early detection, to increase life expectancy and reduce the mortality. Other actions were done, for example: support National Cancer Register; create a Training Program; collaborate with the Health Ministry in the National Program Cancer to create the National Cancer Guidelines. As a result of these actions, inequalities are drastically reduced because the early detection of the tumor between others reasons; for example universal access to mammography. Mammography equipments were purchased or obtained trough agreements with institutions, so the accessibility to the exams became easily possible. At the same time, a norm was implemented. As a result, women have one free day per year at work to do their exams. All these programs are provided by the CHLCC own fundings, coming from taxation of the state. Twenty years after the beginning of this work, the standardized mortality rate of breast cancer has dropped from 24.8 in 1997 to 19.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2014, showing a decrease of almost 22% during this period. In the present time, 66% of breast cancers are diagnosed in stages I or II and the survival rate is 86% after 5 years. Between other factors, public global action allows for early diagnosis and improvement of survival rates.