Head of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Department of Medical Pathology, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Öztek, participated in an online event organized by Esas Gayrimenkul within the scope of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Öztek addressed the participants under the title “Empower with Awareness: We Talk About Breast Cancer”. At the event, he explained to the participants the importance of early diagnosis, healthy living, moral support, and family support in breast cancer. By sharing the functioning of targeted drugs, in addition to surgical, radiotherapy, and medical treatment methods, he emphasized that awareness plays a critical role in combating the disease.
Female employees, including Head of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Department of Medical Pathology, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Öztek, Assistant Manager for Sector Collaborations at Üsküdar Üniversitesi Career Center Department, Semra Gül, and Esas Gayrimenkul Senior Human Resources Business Partner, Ecem Keskinkaya Ökden, participated in the online event.
“It's a big mistake not to care because there's no pain”
Emphasizing the importance of early diagnosis in breast cancer, Prof. Dr. İbrahim Öztek said; “When we notice a tiny lump, swelling, or pain in our body, we should immediately go to the doctor. As they say, ‘Don't fear cancer, fear being late.’ Exercise a lot; it's more beneficial than medicine. Eating grapefruit, pomegranate, or vitamin C-rich fruits once or twice a day is very important. Watermelon is also a powerful antioxidant; even eating black grapes with their seeds is beneficial. Broccoli, parsley, ginger, tomatoes… All are very valuable for the body. Prostate cancer is most common in men, and breast cancer in women. Lung and colon cancers are second most common in both sexes. Throughout life, one in every 7-8 women is diagnosed with breast cancer. Moreover, 90% of these lumps are painless. So, it's a big mistake not to care because there's no pain. Early diagnosis truly saves lives,” he stated.
“Keeping the immune system strong during illness is very important”
Prof. Dr. Öztek drew attention to the importance of moral and family support; “Keeping the immune system strong during illness is very important. If you undermine the patient's morale, you actually weaken their immune system. Therefore, the patient needs to remain strong both medically and spiritually, and their morale must be kept high. Severe stress, distress, and sadness truly harm the patient. Here, the family's approach is also very important. In many families I've observed, when a woman loses her breast, she may feel as if she has lost not just an organ, but her femininity or her responsibility towards her spouse. At that point, the spouse should never make her feel this way. Everyone in the family, regardless of the type of illness, should approach the patient with love, give moral support, and make them feel that they are by their side,” he stated.
Targeted therapy is very important…
Öztek provided information about current treatment methods for cancer; “Treatment options include surgery, radiotherapy, and medical therapy. Medical treatment can sometimes include alternative methods. In surgical treatment, sometimes only a small biopsy is taken, while at other times the entire breast may be removed. Non-surgical treatments include chemotherapy, radiotherapy, immunotherapy, and some alternative medicine practices. Hormonal drugs are generally used in chemotherapy. In recent years, there have also been targeted drugs, commonly known as smart drugs. However, these drugs are not suitable for every patient. First, genetic tests are performed. The drug given based on the results of these tests can stop the functioning of the vessels feeding the tumor or directly locate and neutralize the tumor cell. This is why we call these drugs targeted therapy,” he said.
The event concluded with the information and recommendations given by Prof. Dr. İbrahim Öztek to the participants.