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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Health & Science

Only 32% of Mexican women show high awareness of breast cancer

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Context piece
  • Only 32% of women in Mexico reached high or very high breast cancer awareness levels, according to a new index from Fundación Avon and Instituto Natura.
  • Annual diagnoses rose from 31,000 to 34,000 over four years, while only 31% of women know the recommended age for a first mammogram and 29% identify biopsy as the confirmatory test.
  • Health organizations cited shortages and uneven distribution of mammography equipment, along with fear and limited information, as barriers to early detection.

Only 32% of women in Mexico have high or very high awareness of breast cancer, according to the country’s first Breast Cancer Awareness Index, presented by Fundación Avon and Instituto Natura.

Most women with breast cancer do not know it.

· Alma Ortiz PellónWarning that many women remain unaware that they have the disease.

The findings come as annual diagnoses have risen from 31,000 to 34,000 over the past four years. The organizations said about 35 million women in Mexico are exposed to breast cancer. Alma Ortiz Pellón, deputy director general of the Mexican Association for the Fight Against Cancer, warned that many women with the disease do not know they have it. “Most women with breast cancer do not know it,” she said, adding that the figures are rising and that there are still cases that remain unidentified.

Awareness does not consistently translate into screening. Only 31% of Mexican women know the recommended age for their first mammogram, and just 29% recognize a biopsy as the confirmatory test. Although 86% believe breast cancer can be cured, access remains uneven. Some states face shortages or delays involving mammography machines, while other states have enough equipment but do not see enough women coming in for tests.

Knowing is not enough, it is what we do with what we know.

· Silvia OjedaEmphasizing that awareness must lead to action and access to care.

“Knowing is not enough, it is what we do with what we know,” said Silvia Ojeda, director of Fundación Instituto Natura México. She added that telling women what they should do is not enough if they cannot access the necessary care. Ortiz Pellón said breast cancer is one of the most studied cancers, but its slow development means many women never undergo a biopsy because they do not believe the disease is curable or lack guidance.

Telling women what they should do is not enough if they cannot do it.

· Silvia OjedaHighlighting unequal access to mammography and other medical services.

Ortiz Pellón said more than 33 million women in Mexico are susceptible and should undergo mammograms. Recent campaigns in Mexico City have carried out about 22,000 studies. She urged women to keep seeking information and awareness about the cancer that causes the most deaths among women in Mexico each year.

Breast cancer is one of the most studied cancers.

· Alma Ortiz PellónDiscussing the disease’s slow development and barriers to biopsy and diagnosis.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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