In 2024, breast cancer was the leading cause of cancer death in women in Santander. According to figures from the National Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE), this disease accounted for 16% of female cancer deaths in the department, with more than 1,200 lives lost during the year. In Colombia, it ranks among the leading causes of cancer mortality in women.
According to the report by the National Public Health Surveillance System (SIVIGILA), in 2024, 378 new cases of breast cancer were reported in Santander, 37 more than those reported for the same week in 2023, when there were 341.
“Breast cancer is a public health problem, its incidence is on the rise, and it is the leading cause of death in women,” says Dr. Álvaro Enrique Niño Rodríguez, professor at the UIS School of Medicine and president of the Colombian Society of Mastology.
The Second Departmental Survey on Gender Gaps conducted by the Santander Observatory on Women and Gender Equality (OMEGS), of which the Industrial University of Santander (UIS) is a part through an inter-institutional agreement with the Santander Governor’s Office, specifies that the figures on self-care practices reveal a challenge. Although breast self-examination and regular check-ups are recognized as secondary prevention strategies, their adoption is still limited.
In addition, it is evident that a significant proportion of women of risk age do not perform self-examination regularly, and that levels of participation in mammography screening programs vary significantly among the seven provinces of the department. These gaps in the culture of self-care contribute to late diagnosis and, consequently, to increased mortality.
Dr. Niño Rodríguez insists that the risk of breast cancer cannot be avoided or reduced. “Only 20% of women with breast cancer have an identifiable risk factor, and those risk factors are not modifiable. Breast cancer cannot be prevented, but screening is a means of early diagnosis, which reduces the likelihood of morbidity and mortality,” he says.
Incidence by province
Metropolitan, Yariguíes Comunera, and Guanentá are the provinces with the highest number of cases. This is attributed to the fact that they have the largest populations and greater diagnostic capacity. However, in provinces with less access to specialized services, significant barriers to early detection persist, resulting in later diagnoses and, consequently, worse clinical outcomes.
In the case of Santander, according to OMEGS, the Metropolitan province has the highest rate with 20.5 deaths per 100,000 women in 2024. This figure is 2.2 points lower than that reported in 2023 (22.6 deaths per 100,000 women) and 2.2 points higher than that recorded in 2022 (18.2 deaths per 100,000 women).
The province of Yariguíes has the second highest number of deaths from breast cancer. In 2024, there were 15 cases per 100,000 women, equivalent to 28 deaths. Most of these cases are in Barrancabermeja, which accounts for around 70% each year. It is followed by Puerto Wilches (9%), Sabana de Torres (7%), San Vicente de Chucurí (5%), Simacota (3%), Puerto Parra (2%), and Betulia (1%). Carmen de Chucurí, meanwhile, has not reported any deaths from this cause since 2017, according to the study by the Santander Observatory on Women and Gender Equality at the UIS.
Early detection
Early detection of breast cancer is one of the most effective tools for reducing mortality and improving the quality of life of women diagnosed with the disease. That is why Dr. Niño Rodríguez asserts that the Colombian Society of Mastology has proposed annual mammograms and ultrasounds starting at age 40 as a screening plan, “taking into account the epidemiology where 35% of women with breast cancer are under 50 years of age.”
Currently, the Ministry of Health and Protection recommends screening for asymptomatic patients starting at age 50, with mammograms and ultrasounds every two years.
For his part, UIS professor Diego Fernando Corso, a gynecologist and breast cancer surgeon, reminds us that women over the age of 50 should have a mammogram every two years and recommends visiting the doctor from the age of 22 for a clinical breast exam and performing a breast self-exam every month.
“To achieve an early diagnosis of the disease, from stage one, there is a 95% chance of cure. As the disease progresses, those chances decrease. Therefore, what has the greatest impact on curing a patient is early diagnosis of the disease,” says Corso.
Self-examination
For patients who still have their menstrual cycle, doctors recommend performing a self-examination on the eighth or ninth day of the menstrual cycle, and for menopausal patients, once a month.
Dr. Niño Rodríguez explains that there are two phases to self-examination. One is done in front of a mirror, looking for symmetry and changes in movement, and the other is a palpation that should be done with the woman lying down.
En Santander, el 75,3% de las mujeres mayores de 18 años se realizan el autoexamen, según la II Encuesta Departamental de Brechas de Género. Pero, la frecuencia con la que las mujeres se lo realizan refleja importantes retos en materia de prevención y autocuidado. Según el informe, solo el 15% de las mujeres se autoexploran cada mes y el 18% cada seis meses, mientras que un 25% nunca lo ha realizado. Destaca que el 30% la efectúa con “otra frecuencia” no regular y que un 12% únicamente lo haya hecho una vez en su vida.
El estudio revela desigualdades territoriales en la práctica del autoexamen de seno en Santander. Mientras que en provincias como Yariguíes (27,6%) y Soto Norte (18%) se observa una mayor proporción de mujeres que lo realizan mensualmente, en otras como Vélez (6,6%) y Guanentá (8,6%) esta práctica es mucho menos frecuente. Destaca que en la mayoría de provincias prevalece un alto porcentaje de mujeres que nunca realizan el autoexamen como en la Comunera (59,2%), García Rovira (62,6%) y Soto Norte (78,1%).
“El cáncer de mama sigue representando un reto prioritario de salud pública en Colombia y, particularmente, en Santander, donde las tasas de mortalidad se mantienen por encima del promedio nacional y las brechas territoriales evidencian un acceso desigual a los servicios de detección y tratamiento. Los datos muestran que, si bien existen avances en la práctica del autoexamen y la mamografía, persisten barreras culturales, informativas, económicas y de acceso que retrasan los diagnósticos y limitan las posibilidades de supervivencia”, precisa el informe OMEGS.
