With rapid urbanisation and abrupt lifestyle changes, there has been increasing incidence of breast cancer and it is estimated that every year 1,44,000 women in India are diagnosed with breast cancer.
The incidence of breast cancer is higher in urban India, especially in the metropolitan cities where it is the second most common form of cancer after cervix in rural and semi-urban India. Yet women seek medical care extremely late due to lack of awareness about self-examination and cultural barriers.
In India, an average age of breast cancer cases is also shifting to 30 years from 50 years.“Most of the Indian women are identified with breast cancer in the third or the last stage due to lack of awareness. It is necessary for women to go for mammography tests twice in a year after reaching the age of 40 and yearly after reaching 50,” Dr sarika Lamba, cancer surgeon and breast cancer specialist said.
“A change in daily life style, regular exercise, healthy diet, breast feeding, weight control can avoid the breast cancer. With the advent of new medical techniques there is no need to panic, breast cancer is curable,” Dr Lamba added.
REASONS
Obesity, marriage and first child at older age, lack of physical activities, rheumatism, reduced breastfeeding even not feeding, alcohol consumption, smoking increases the risk of breast cancer.
DETECTION
Breast Self Examination (BSE) by women may help in identifying breast tumors earlier. Lumps in the breast, emergence of any fluid in the nipple, changes in the skin around the breast, swelling in any part of the breast, pain in the breast or nipple are signs of breast cancer disease. These signs can be identified by creating a pad of fingers.
ALARMING SITUATION
- According to GLOBOCAN, an international agency for research on cancer, out of every second woman newly diagnosed with breast cancer, one is dying of it.
- In India 70,218 women died of breast cancer in 2012 and the death figure is estimated to increase to 76,000 in 2020.
- As per the Indian Council of Medical Research, at present 14.5 lakh new cases of cancer are registered in a year out of which 10% or around 1.45 lakh are breast cancer patients.
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