Pink October is a campaign that began in the United States in 1990 to alert women about the importance of breast health care and to provide guidance on the symptoms of possible diseases, such as cancer, and it quickly gained strength around the entire world, including in Brazil.

In recent years, technological resources have also joined the cause and have been intensified to help in the battle against cancer, through the offering of numerous technologies, ranging from more precise radiological devices to gene therapy, also including robotics applied to medicine.

To help you understand the importance of Pink October and present the progress of technology in the prevention and treatment of the disease, we, the team at CodeBlog, have prepared this special article, full of information.

Continue reading and check it out:

About Pink October

Pink October is a worldwide campaign focused on raising awareness among the population about the importance of prevention and early diagnosis of breast cancer.

Since 1990, when it emerged, the month of October has been dedicated to the cause, and various public and private organizations around the world carry out specific actions, such as examination campaigns, lectures, roundtables, and much more.

The pink ribbon, the symbol of the campaign, was initially used in the first edition of the “Race for the Cure,” held by the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, in New York City, in 1990.

Since then, it started being distributed at fashion shows, conferences, public places, and other events.

Brazil began to adopt Pink October activities in 2002, when various public monuments were illuminated in pink to inform the population about the campaign.

Technology as an ally in the fight against breast cancer

Breast cancer treatment involves the extent of the disease, the biological characteristics of the tumor, and the patient's conditions.

Currently, treatments are classified according to two types of approaches:

• Local: surgical procedure to remove the tumor and radiotherapy

• Systemic: chemotherapy, hormone therapy, and biological therapy.

In recent years, there has been an evolution toward the adoption of less aggressive surgical procedures and more individualized therapies. In this scenario, technology has been a great ally in the fight against breast cancer, presenting countless solutions such as:

Robotic surgery

Although the high cost of robotic surgeries prevents their large-scale use, this procedure ensures a much less invasive treatment, where pain and blood loss are significantly lower. In addition, fewer painkillers are used, and the hospital stay is also shorter, making recovery smoother. The trend is that, as technological advancements intensify, the procedure will become more accessible.

Less aggressive chemotherapy

Advances in the scientific field are also making chemotherapy less aggressive. An example of this is inhibitors, such as CDK4/6, which make it possible to delay the start of chemo during treatment.

In addition, the use of genetic signatures - specific molecular properties - facilitates the choice of the best chemotherapeutic drugs according to the type of tumor.

The so-called "targeted therapy" can act only on diseased cells, without other organs and healthy cells being compromised. In this way, it is possible to reduce the number of applications and make the entire treatment less painful, with less aggressive medications and fewer side effects, such as hair loss, diarrhea, and nausea.

Radiological evolution

Technology has enabled the modernization of equipment aimed at the radiology area, thus ensuring higher quality images and enabling a more localized application, capable of treating only the cancerous area and maintaining the integrity of adjacent organs.

In addition, the so-called PET Scan (or positron emission tomography) allows molecular imaging diagnosis of tumors and anticipates the risk of metastasis and recurrence.

Personalized medicine

Until recently, cancer treatment options were restricted to surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, but nowadays, with the advancement of personalized medicine, it is possible to identify specific mutations and direct the individualization of therapy through different techniques such as iodine therapy, immunotherapy, hormone blockade, inhibitors, and much more.

Thus, early diagnosis, along with specialized support for the patient and the adoption of new technologies, ensures a much more individualized and effective treatment.

Why is early diagnosis important?

Breast cancer is the second most common among women in Brazil and worldwide. In Brazil, according to data from INCA (National Cancer Institute), 66,280 new cases of breast cancer were estimated in 2021, with an estimated risk of 61.61 cases per 100,000 women.

Breast cancer is also the leader in cancer mortality among Brazilian women, with an age-adjusted mortality rate, by the world population, for 2019, of 14.23/100,000.

The alarming numbers are a warning about the importance of awareness and early diagnosis. After all, the disease has a treatment and great possibilities of cure, but this depends mainly on the staging of the tumor.

The diagnosis of breast cancer is based on three pillars, such as: clinical examination, imaging examination, and histopathological analysis. Thus, early diagnosis occurs according to the approach of people presenting symptoms and screening.

Therefore, the first step to fight the disease and increase the chances of cure is to educate women and professionals on identifying symptoms, especially through breast self-examination.

It is worth mentioning that as important as self-examination is, the mammogram is still the most effective test for the early detection of the tumor.

Fortunately, the last decades have been marked by great advances in the fight against cancer, both regarding technological novelties and the level of information of the population, thanks to projects and initiatives related to Pink October.

In view of the above, we at CodeBit support the month of awareness in the fight against breast cancer. This is the moment for women to practice self-care and remember the importance of performing self-examinations regularly and mammograms periodically. After all, early diagnosis is the best way to increase the chances of cure!

And you? Did you like learning how technology can help in the fight against breast cancer? If you found this article interesting, keep an eye on the CodeBit blog and follow all the news in the field of health linked to technology.

A big hug and see you in the next post!