'Kylie effect' skews cancer fears
Singer Kylie Minogue's public battle with breast cancer prompted more women to have golden goose outlet screening checks, even though some of these were ineffective, an Australian expert said.
Experts say the so-called "Kylie effect" remains around the disease, with overblown public perception of rising rates of breast cancer in younger women and confusion around the best ways to detect it.
"It is important to dispel the misconceptions, address unnecessary alarm and provide the facts for this age group," Dr Helen Zorbas, director of the National Breast and Ovarian Cancer Centre, said at the launch of Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Sydney.
She said women under 40 made up just 6 per cent of the 12,000 females diagnosed with the disease, and rates remained static. However younger women are more prone to an https://www.goldengoosesneaker.us/ aggressive form of the disease and have a 39 per cent increased risk of dying.
Diagnoses among young celebrities like pop star Kylie Minogue, fashion designer Heidi Middleton and actress Christina Applegate, and deaths of Ms McGrath and Ms Emmett have given the public the misguided impression of an epidemic among the young, according to Dr Zorbas.
"The so called 'Kylie effect' led to an increase in the number of women who made bookings for mammograms but many of these women were in the under 40 age group, where mammographic screening is not effective," Dr Zorbas said.
Her audience included Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, federal Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull and a host of other dignitaries, doctors, scientists and survivors.
Screening programs have reduced breast cancer deaths by 30 per cent among women aged 50-69 years, because the small white abnormalities can be detected with relative ease. Younger, denser breasts, however, resemble "cotton wool" in scans, making the lumps unrecognisable.
"Early detection for breast cancer in young women relies almost completely on young women themselves, knowing their own bodies and picking up the early signs of the disease," Dr Zorbas said.
A new campaign recommends "breast awareness" for young women, encouraging them to check themselves regularly for lumps using no special technique after international studies found specific checking styles did not reduce cancer deaths.
The retro-style advertisements encourage women to check their breasts as part of everyday life, while drying their hair or waiting for the toast to pop.
Studies show women can also reduce their breast cancer risk by up to 30 per cent by keeping alcohol consumption to a minimum, exercising regularly and maintaining a healthy body weight.
Mr Rudd told the audience Australia needed to do better in tackling all forms of cancer.
"It's time as a nation that we renew our national efforts in what must be a national war against cancer," he said.
- AAP