Azerbaijan, Baku, July 18/Trend M. Moezzi/
Breast cancer is the third leading cause of death among Iranian women and 25,000 to 30,000 new cases are reported every year.
Only colon and rectal cancers kill more women, said Dr. Parviz Daryaei who urged breast cancer patients' closest relatives to get tested for the disease, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports.
A member of the Scientific Committee for the Seventh Annual Congress of Iranian Association of General Surgeons, Dr. Daryaei said 65 to 70 per cent of patients detect the cancer mass growing in their bodies and then visit a physician. It takes five years for a tumour to measure between half and one centimetres.
The physician added that prevention, detection, treatment and palliative care are the four stages of preventing and treating the disease.