Breast cancer increasing among women and men

A local college student is concerned about reports that breast cancer among women and men is increasing.

Armando Orozco, Jr., said, “I am slightly worried, but, it’s something that I think about not on a daily basis, but it does concern me. My mom is worried for my entire family as we might be more susceptible to it.”

His family has a history of suffering cancer.

“My grandfather had lung cancer that spread to brain cancer, which led to his passing. My grandmother, she had to get surgeries to remove both her breasts,” Orozco said.

Imperial Valley College an event on Tuesday for other students with similar concerns.

Miriam Trejo, IVC Student Services Specialist, said, “A lot of them think that it can’t happen to them because they’re so young or being terminally in older females. But, the fact of the matter it’s not just females, it’s males as well, and the earlier you detect, the better.”

Alicia Ortega, Director of Pioneers Memorial Healthcare District Cancer Institute, encourages daily self-checks for unusual body lumps which can appear at any age.

“We have unfortunately a lot of 40-year-old, 30-year-old patients receiving chemotherapy for various types of cancers.”

She said fear and sometimes even cultural taboos are a major obstacle in early treatment.

“There’s this misconception that if I don’t find it; I don’t have it. Or if I don’t tell the doctor what I’m feeling, he’s not going to tell me that it’s cancer. The cancer is not going to wait. The sooner we diagnose, or the sooner we get diagnosed, the better chances of survival that there is,” Ortega said.

She warns that the situation is a serious one, adding that they’re seeing as many as five new cases some days.