In many cultures, the whole month of March is a time to focus on women. Bulgarians refer to it as "Women's Month" because they associate the changing weather of March, Granny Martha as they call it, with the proverbial ever-changing moods of women. But the other reason is 8 March - International Women's Day. It is a day when we not only celebrate women, but also draw attention to their role in society and the problems they face. In the dynamic and challenging life of Bulgaria, women deserve more attention and time for their personal health. Targeted care must include a preventive examination in the office of an imaging specialist.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and is therefore defined as a socially significant disease affecting patients of different ages. More than 2 million cases of breast cancer are diagnosed worldwide each year. The good news is that with early detection, the five-year survival rate is over 90%.

Every year, around 4,000 Bulgarian women are newly diagnosed with breast cancer. This means that one in eight women in Bulgaria is at risk of developing the malignant disease. Breast cancer is also among diseases that appear at an increasingly younger age. Around 800 cases occur in women under 50 years of age each year, says Dr Gergana Georgieva, a specialist in imaging diagnostics at the Acibadem City Clinic Hospital.

There is a lot of talk about cancer in Bulgaria, but the truth is that there is no adequate screening programme, prevention and prophylaxis of this disease. Very often it is diagnosed at an advanced stage. This results in a significantly lower survival rate compared to patients diagnosed in the early stages. This negatively impacts quality of life for women and causes further social harm.

"Prevention and early detection are key! A disease detected in time can be cured," Dr Gergana Georgieva reminds us:

"There are good enough technologies for early diagnosis, there are also many types of treatment and all of these help in fighting breast cancer. What we recommend is that mammography should be done after the age of 40, every two years, and ultrasound should be done after the age of 25, but every year. Unfortunately, the age at which breast cancer is detected is really decreasing, we have patients at quite a young age," says Dr Georgieva.

Imaging specialists in Sofia and across the country are becoming better equipped to detect breast problems in the very early stages. Dr Georgieva says that women from all over the country can come to the clinic for an examination, which is covered by the National Health Insurance Fund. She also gets a lot of patients from abroad, who say they trust Bulgarian specialists more and travel to Bulgaria specifically for their screening.

Although the focus is on women, the disease can also occur in men. Dr Georgieva advises women to perform monthly self-monitoring:

"She should palpate both the armpit and the breast. In both places she should not feel very hard areas, lumps. She should check that there are no skin bumps, no changes on the surface. Any sign should be looked at. It does not necessarily mean that there is something serious, but it should be examined to find out the cause of the change. The same applies to men. They can also be affected by breast cancer, although this is very rare. If they feel a lump or change in the structure of the breast, they should see an imaging specialist - a mammologist - and have the same tests as women.

Her practice has high-end 2D and 3D mammography equipment, and the examination is tailored to the patient's individual case. "Imaging specialists are the people who can detect a possible problem in the breast, but after detection we work with a whole range of medical specialists," says Dr Georgieva:

"There are very good specialists in Bulgaria. We attend various conferences and congresses around the world to exchange experiences. We take part in these forums so that we can keep abreast of world trends and work with patients in the best possible way.

As I said, the onset of the disease comes at an earlier age. The reason is not only hereditary. Risk factors include prolonged hormone therapy and more in vitro procedures. This should be a signal to women that they should be screened more often.