NURS1102 Primary Health Care
Question:
Answer:
Breast cancer is found to be one of the most common form of cancer within women with different forms of such as breast containing lump, swollen lymph nodes, inverted nipples and others (Marmot et al., 2013). Thus, it has become global concern. In Australia the prevalence of breast cancer has been found to be 28.4% (DeSantis et al., 2014). Hence, it is important to introduce effective programs to address the issue. In this regards many effective programs have been found to introduce adequate interventions to reduce the incident of breast cancer.
Breast Screen Australia is one of such effective program that have taken adequate initiatives in order to reduce the risk of breast cancer. The program provides free screening of breast cancer and aims to decrease the rate of death due to breast cancer. Strategies taken by the program include proper diet and adequate physical activities to maintain the body weight as risk of breast cancer is high in obese people. Next strategy is to limit smoking and alcohol intake as most of the cases of breast cancer have been found to be associated with substance abuse. Proper breast feeding is another initiative as women that breastfeed their child for 12months are less vulnerable to breast cancer. The interventions taken by the program is effective to reduce the mortality rate by 21%. However the target people of the program is women aged between 50 to 74 years, it can be said that it the limitation of the program and the service providers should include wider range of age to make the programme more effective (healthdirect.gov.au, 2018). Another program has been introduced by the Cancer Council of Australia. It has been informed by the organization that early detection of breast cancer could help to introduce proper treatment in time and help the patient to survive from the condition. Mammography has been identified by the cancer council as the most effective screening process. The cancer council Australia helps the women to get information about breast screen program and encourage them to participate in the program. Such initiatives are appreciable, however, it has been found that mammography could lead to risk of overdiagnosed condition that may results in unnecessary treatment. Thus, it is important to identify proper screening process to detect breast cancer effectively (Australia, 2018). Breast health and awareness is another important program that plays a vital role in order to create awareness within the population. The interventions taken by the program is similar to the strategies of BreastScreen Australia which include healthy diet, being active, reduce the intake of alcohol, skip smoking and breast feeding. In addition the program provides adequate information regarding breast cancer, risk factors, causes and treatment as well (bcna.org.au, 2018). Such strategies are effective to create awareness within the population and encourage them to adapt healthy lifestyle.
From the above discussion it can be said that, breast cancer has become one of the main concern of the health system due to increased prevalence and mortality. Some effective initiatives have been taken in Australia that have provided adequate measures to control the illness, however, some limitations are also present but they can be modified with proper interventions and the program could be more effective.
References
Australia, C. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.cancer.org.au/about-cancer/early-detection/screening-programs/breast-cancer-screening.html
bcna.org.au (2018). Reducing your risk | Breast Cancer Network Australia. Retrieved from https://www.bcna.org.au/breast-health-awareness/reducing-your-risk/
DeSantis, C., Ma, J., Bryan, L., & Jemal, A. (2014). Breast cancer statistics, 2013. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians, 64(1), 52-62.
healthdirect.gov.au (2018). Breast cancer prevention. Retrieved from https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/breast-cancer-prevention
Marmot, M. G., Altman, D. G., Cameron, D. A., Dewar, J. A., Thompson, S. G., & Wilcox, M. (2013). The benefits and harms of breast cancer screening: an independent review. British journal of cancer, 108(11), 2205.
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