femtech:brief #03: Breast Cancer Awareness
๐๐ฝ๐๐ฝ Hello and welcome to the third edition of femtech:brief. This week we discuss Breast Cancer. The month of October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer and how people can protect themselves.
In recent years, knowledge about breast cancer and methods of detection and treatments have been on the rise, and in this weekโs brief, we do our best to bring you an overview of some of the femtech companies using technology to benefit those directly or indirectly affected by breast cancer.
According to the WHO, in 2020, there were 2.3 million women diagnosed with breast cancer and 685 000 deaths globally. As of the end of 2020, there were 7.8 million women alive who were diagnosed with breast cancer in the past 5 years, making it the worldโs most prevalent cancer.
Science Behind
Hormones and breast cancer
A British study in which data from 150,000 women was evaluated, concluded that the natural hormone fluctuations during pregnancy and breastfeeding can decrease your risk of breast cancer. WebMD says that the likelihood of breast cancer reduces by 7% with each childbirth and by 4% per year of breastfeeding. Some interesting stats here: Hormones and breast cancer
Startups to know
Hera-MI: A patented clinical decision support software that detects anomalies in mammograms.
Kheiron Medical: Mia is a suite of AI-powered solutions to support radiologists with tools enabling accurate and early breast cancer detection. Read stories of women on their site talking about their experience in this breast cancer awareness month: 31 Wishes
iSono Health: 3D breast ultrasound scanner that uses Artificial Intelligence to perform whole breast scans and localize breast lesions with consistent accuracy matching the best operators using traditional ultrasound equipment.
Gabbi: This Portland-based startup is currently piloting a consumer-friendly breast cancer risk calculator that can propose a health action plan and link users to a network of women in the same risk population.
Startup of the week
Vara โ Breast Cancer Diagnostics
Vara uses AI to flag normal mammograms with very high confidence so screening radiologists can focus on what really matters most for women: finding and fighting breast cancer as early as possible. Vara alerts the screening radiologist to take a second look at suspicious findings they did not report.
Varaโs CE-certified machine learning software has already been implemented by leading screening providers across Europe and raised โฌ6.5M in funding in 2020.
๐๏ธโ๐จ๏ธ Bonus Read
A mammogram is a screening procedure that doctors use for early signs of breast cancer. It is generally recommended to be included as part of annual health checkups for women after their 40s. Read a story about how a random mammogram screening helped a woman get back her life.
โIt is so important for women to do monthly breast self-exams and have their yearly mammograms. Early detection saves lives, and I'm living proof of it!โ
๐ก Did you know?
Men get breast cancer too but with a lifetime risk of about 1 in 1000 while for women, it is a shocking 1 in 8. Read about it here: Breast cancer in men
A monthly self-breast examination can help detect anomalies and changes in the breasts. The self-exam only takes a few minutes and can greatly impact the chances of early detection. Find some free resources for self-exams here: Breast self-exam, and here is a guide on how to do a breast self-examination yourself (source: www.saintjohnscancer.org/):
Community discussion
Breast cancer is not preventable but early detection can make a big difference in its treatment and recovery. Have more resources to share? Leave a comment