Interview with Prof Catarina Rodrigues Santos, Professor of surgery, Coordinator of Breast Unit CUF, Lisbon, Portugal
CUF is organising the 1st Young women’s breast cancer and health conference on 29-30 October 2024. Which organisation is behind this event?
The event is hosted by the Breast Cancer Young Women (BCYW) Foundation, founded two years ago by a distinguished Portuguese oncologist, Professor Luis Costa, who also works at CUF. The BCYW Foundation is an international network of compassionate medical doctors and surgeons treating breast cancer patients, community medicine experts, scientists, advocates, nurses, survivors, ambassadors, and non-governmental organisations from 23 countries, with a shared agile purpose to make a difference in the lives of young women with breast cancer.
The BCYW Foundation focuses on raising targeted awareness, supporting advanced research, advocating, and supporting BCYW survivors. It aims to empower young women and teens with knowledge that might help them save their lives from breast cancer tomorrow.
What do you expect from this conference?
There has been in Portugal and in other countries worldwide an increase in the number of cases of breast cancer among young women under the age of 40, and this is clearly reflected in the statistics. This phenomenon is also observed for other types of cancer (gastric, colorectal, etc.). What’s more, the increase is greater among young people than in other age groups. We want to highlight this fact. Our main aim is to launch a debate on the subject.
Breast cancers in young women need to be approached differently, because their origin, aggressiveness and the implications in young women’s life. We do not know the reason or reasons for this increase in incidence. At CUF, we are carrying out a number of clinical studies on young women in several areas: genetics, the microbiome, etc. We don’t yet have the answers, but we hope to find them by working with scientists and doctors in a variety of fields, including breast cancer experts from many European countries, as well as the United States, India, Japan, etc.
Professor Luis Costa and a number of other professionals from around the world set up the foundation two years ago to try and gain a better understanding of the phenomenon, raise public awareness, issue recommendations to prevent these cancers and find treatments through research.
This conference will be an opportunity to define common objectives and launch a magazine, where foundation members will be able to share information and make proposals.
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How involved are CUF hospitals in cancer screening and treatments?
With nearly eight decades of experience, CUF leads private healthcare in Portugal with an integrated network of 30 hospitals and clinics. Through the daily dedication of more than 15,000 employees, CUF is recognised for its clinical excellence, innovation, and strong values that support the delivery of quality healthcare. CUF Oncologia, the largest private oncology care network in the country and the third-largest diagnostic provider nationwide, has a commitment of almost 40 years to its patients. With over 400 specialists, it ensures close and compassionate care in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the disease. CUF hospitals handle 12% of cancer diagnoses in Portugal and 7% of cancer treatments (all cancers combined).
I’m the coordinator of the breast unit in Lisbon and as we welcome a lot of young women at CUF, as we have maternity units, gynaecological centres and general medicine centres, we feel the responsibility to give our best to young women suffering from breast cancer. We believe that the best way to get there is to share data and experience.
