Diagnosed in 2015, she has undergone numerous treatments and surgeries, leading her to become an avid advocate of early diagnosis and regular health screenings.
Never underestimate the controls
We met her behind the scenes of the Saturday evening program and asked her for an opinion on cancer prevention: “October is the month of cancer prevention, but I say that both women and men must never underestimate the checks at any time of the year, there is no need to be afraid or fearful, you need to go to the doctors, talk, do the tests, screening. The important thing is to act promptly!”, afferma Carolyn Smith.
Smith often shares his experiences on social media (https://www.instagram.com/carolynsmith5/), offering encouragement to those facing similar challenges. Emphasizes the importance of tests, mammograms and all the tools to detect cancer early. His openness and resilience have inspired many peoplewomen and men, transforming it into a symbol of strength and of hope for cancer patients in Italy and beyond.
Changing lifestyle habits can reduce the risk
As one of the most common and studied tumors, many breast cancers have been identified risk factors. Some of these are modifiable, such as lifestyles, others are not, such as age and genetic and constitutional factors. It is estimated that the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits can reduce the chances of onset of the disease. Timely diagnosis and targeted treatment make it possible to significantly reduce risks for the patient’s life and resort to the most conservative surgery possible. The spread of mammography screening programs, awareness of the value of adopting virtuous lifestyles and innovative pharmacological and surgical approaches has changed the history of this disease.
The three levels of prevention
The three levels of prevention are primary, secondary and tertiary prevention. In the primary prevention prevention of the development of the pathology actually occurs. Types of primary prevention include: vaccinations, counseling to change high-risk behavior, sometimes chemoprevention.
In the secondary preventionthe disease is recognized and treated early, often before appearance of symptomsthus minimizing serious consequences. Types of secondary prevention include screening programs, such as mammography for breast cancer and dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) for osteoporosis.
Tracing the sexual partners of a person diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection (contact tracing) and treating those people, if necessary, to minimize the spread of the disease.
In the tertiary preventiona previous disease, usually chronic, is treated with the aim of prevent complications or further damage it may cause.
