The new plan of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) is going out to find women at risk and raise awareness of the importance of breast health to fight breast cancer.
Currently, one case is diagnosed every eight hours, that is, on average three women per day.
Therefore, health authorities seek to lower the prevalence of the disease, but also to achieve a diagnosis in stage 0 or 1, because the survival rate after five years is 100% for early-detection cases.
Dr. Mario Urcuyo, coordinator of the program, explained that the idea is for women to arrive on time.
We are going to look for the ladies in their homes, we will not wait for them to come to the health centers every two years. We will go for those who are between 45 and 69 years old. We also want to change the approach that this is a disease that kills and causes problems, but rather that it is seen as an opportunity to verify the health of the breasts,”
explained Dr. Urcuyo.
The women in the health areas of Moravia, Tibás Coopesain, Tibás/Uruca /Merced (belonging to Clínica Clorito Picado), León XIII and Goicoechea, will be part of this plan. The authorities hope to extend it at national level and especially in rural areas where there are more cases.
Women in these five health areas can join the program without having any illness. They will have the results in less than three months.
The “Arrive on time” campaign starts Monday at the Goicoechea clinic.