A woman diagnosed with three cancers

Ten years after cervical cancer surgery, a woman's check-up reveals right breast and right lung tumors.

A woman, initially diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2017, underwent a total hysterectomy and maintained regular follow-ups. In 1/2026, she discovered a lump in her right breast through self-examination. Subsequent medical examinations revealed tumors in her right breast and right lung. This patient's family history includes her father having lung cancer and her brother having colon cancer.

On 9/5, Doctor Pham Cam Phuong, Director of the Center for Nuclear Medicine and Oncology at Bach Mai Hospital, confirmed that the patient requires surgery to remove the mammary gland and an endoscopic resection of the upper lobe of the right lung, along with lymph node dissection. Additionally, she has been prescribed adjuvant chemotherapy combined with targeted therapy for her lung and breast cancers. Her cervical cancer, however, has been well-controlled by the initial surgery, showing no signs of recurrence or metastasis.

This case of simultaneously developing three primary cancers—cervical, lung, and breast cancer—is rare, though all were detected at a surgically treatable stage. Doctor Phuong emphasized the critical importance of early detection, stating, "Without early examination and detection, the disease would certainly progress rapidly."

Cancer remains a leading cause of death globally, with a continuously increasing burden. According to GLOBOCAN 2022 data, nearly 20 million new cancer cases are recorded worldwide each year. Lung cancer is the most common type, accounting for approximately 2,5 million new cases, or about 12,4% of all global cancer cases. Breast cancer ranks second in overall incidence and is the most common cancer among women, with approximately 2,3 million new cases, representing about one-fourth of all cancers in women.

Among women, breast cancer and cervical cancer are two significant malignant diseases. Breast cancer is the most frequently occurring, while cervical cancer ranks 4th globally with approximately 660.000 new cases each year.

Doctor Phuong recommends that everyone undergo annual health check-ups and cancer screenings for proactive prevention. Cervical cancer is often closely linked to high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and can be detected early through Pap smear and HPV deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing. Early-stage lung cancer, especially when incidentally discovered via low-dose computed tomography (CT) scans, can achieve a high survival rate if radically resected.