The cancer centre in Burgas is offering free breast cancer screening throughout October, says its director, Dr Kiselkov. Women aged 35 to 50 with a family history of the disease can book a slot in advance at the registration desk or by calling 820 142.
The centre runs the screening every October, aiming to catch the disease before symptoms appear. "The goal is to find cancer at a very early stage," Dr Kiselkov said.
The campaign turns up between two and four cases each year, the director said. Caught early, the cure rate is above 97%.
Bulgaria records around 4,000 new cancer diagnoses a year — about 10 a day on average — according to health ministry data.
Sentinel node biopsy is available at only three hospitals in Bulgaria, and Burgas is one of them. The procedure checks just the first lymph node that drains lymph from the tumour, letting women get back to their normal routine faster and removing the risk of lymphedema — lasting arm swelling caused by removed lymph nodes.