'We are strong, but sometimes not so strong,' breast cancer survivors claim on International Day

Fighting for a better quality of life and also to claim help are part of the several claims made by breast cancer survivors, coinciding with the International Day against Breast Cancer, held annually on October 19.

The Fight Against Cancer Association in Barcelona has been working with patients and their families to raise awareness that, despite breast cancer having one of the best survival rates, it is not only about that.

"We want for breast cancer patients to not only decide to live or not to live, but to have a quality of life and to have the quality of being at their homes, talking every day regarding their breast cancer," Dr. Laureano Molins, president of the ACC Barcelona, told Catalan News.

He added that the group wants for patients to be able to say: "here we are, we are strong, but sometimes we are not so strong, so we need your help."

A similar message was shared by the head of the Breast Cancer Department at the Catalan Institute of Oncology in Hospitalet, Sònia Pernas.

"We must offer a full treatment with psychological and social support," she said before adding that "sometimes, the pressure to treat more people is very high that we do not have enough time nor resources for our patients."

Breast cancer has a survival rate of 85% five years after the treatment, while back in the 60s, the rate was around 60%. Dr. Molins believes that campaigns are important to help accompany patients and their families, as "sometimes a family can be more affected than the patient."

For the association, offering the scientific community enough information and investment is crucial to achieving a "very high quality of investigation" to improve the survival rate.

Dr. Molins backs that the preventive breast cancer screening program, or mammography, should start earlier, as at the moment it starts for women aged 50 years or older, but "more young people are affected by breast cancer." At the moment, 24% of breast cancer patients are 50 years or younger.

"We know that an early detection means greater survival," he added.

'Ens ho prenem a pit'

The new campaign released for this year's International Day has the slogan 'Ens ho prenem a pit,' a play on words mixing breast, taking action, and challenging a difficulty. The campaign focuses on what "really means to live with breast cancer, outside of the diagnosis and the actual treatment," a statement from the organization reads.

A study released by the organization states that almost 65% of survivors are scared that breast cancer will reappear, while 57% are worried about their appearance because of cancer.

A total of 36% of those surveyed say that they have a "bad quality of life" because of cancer.

One out of four patients had financial difficulties during the disease, a situation that worsens with younger women, as many feel pressure from society's self-demand messages.

During 2024, almost 36,000 people were diagnosed with breast cancer in Spain; out of these, 1% were men.

The association treated 20,080 patients and 3,285 family members or close people across Spain.

Early detection

Experts have raised concerns as there has been an increase in young breast cancer patients. At the moment, the law in Spain offers mammograms to those aged between 50 and 69 years.

Meanwhile, "there are some other countries that they start at a younger age (40 or 45 years), and reach up to 70 or 75," Dr. Molins told Catalan News.

He backs adding more people to the scheme, as "early detection means greater survival."

A message that the head of the breast cancer unit at the ICO Hospitalet center shares.

The Catalan health department is studying the change, but there is no clear news on the decision at the moment. Doctors say that depending on the decision, they will require more staff.

Pernas, however, highlights that the mammograms scheme "works better" in Catalonia than in other regions, such as Andalusia, where hundreds of women were not diagnosed. But, she warns that experts "must be aware of any error."

Only in Catalonia, 5,439 breast cancers were diagnosed in 2024, and 79% of these were in women aged 50 years or older.

Authorities estimate that 1,081 women lost their lives to breast cancer.

Compared to population growth, diagnoses and mortality rates have remained stable.