TOI :New Techniques Offer Better Diagnosis of Breast Cancer & help cope better : Oct 31,2007
BREAST CANCER CASES ON RISE BUT THERES HOPE
New Techniques Offer Better Diagnosis, Help Women Cope Better With Side Effects Of Treatment
Malathy Iyer & Madhavi Rajadhyaksha I TNN
Mumbai: Meera Pande is 36, she married early and she has a nine-year-old son and four-year-old daughter. Not a candidate, one would presume, for breast cancer. But a year ago, she felt a lump on her left breast. Malignant and aggressive, the doctors said.
If one checks out the many stories in the cancer registry, it appears that stereotypes no longer hold true for breast cancer. The older woman, single woman, or late motherhood are no longer the criteria here. A young mother is inexplicably also at equal risk.
Breast cancer is the leading form of cancer among women and were marching towards a worse case scenario with it increasing 1 to 2% annually, said Dr Rajendra Badwe, surgical oncologist at Tata Memorial hospital. Nearly 30 per lakh women suffer from breast cancer in Mumbai every year and experts blame it on changing lifestyles, particularly late pregnancies. Early pregnancy is a protective factor against breast cancer, but more and more women are bearing children at a later stage, says Dr Badwe.
Behind the rising statistics also lie the fact that breast cancer has never received so much attention before. The pink ribbon month observed every October, the drug launches, and the growing number of survivor tales squarely keep the spotlight on breast cancer.
Says Dr Asha Kapadia, who heads the medical oncology team at Hinduja Hospital, Mahim, Yes, awareness about breast cancer has certainly percolated among people. The city now has a band of breast experts, offers the latest in pills that promise no hair-fall or reduce nausea, and has enough celebrities willing to flaunt a pink ribbon.
A new initiative by voluntary organisation Helping Hand, launched just this month, sees a mobile mammography van touring societies and offices. Many women we surveyed in our awareness camps dreaded the time-consuming screening process in the hospital as well as the fear of being diagnosed with cancer, explains Geeta Advani who heads the initiative which promises to bring screening facilities to your doorstep.
A handful of centres also offer cutting-edge, if expensive, gene tests to find out if a woman has the gene mutations BRCA1 or BRCA2 that increases her risk. Diagnostic centers offer the latest in scansfrom breast MRIs to digital mammograms.
With advancements in treatment, the condition is not always even perceived as serious enough to lose ones breasts. Amita Munshi, a 50-year-old Malabar Hill resident, was shattered when her doctor Vinay Deshmane told her that she may have to undergo a mastectomy (removal of breast). I remember breaking down in his clinic, talking about how I didnt want to lose my breast, recalls Amita. That is when Dr Deshmane offered the breast conservation technique, layer-by-layer removal of the breast till the cancerous growth is scooped out. While breast conservation entails six extra rounds of radiation, doctors believe it helps a woman cope better with the side effects of cancer treatment.
For some women, though, mastectomy may be the best option. Meera Pande, for one, opted for it. As the cancer was diagnosed as aggressive, I didnt want to take any chances, says Meera, who works as a nurse at Hinduja Hospital. She has a mammography scan coming up next week which will reveal whether the cancer is all gone or still an issue. If the scan is clear, its great. If there is a problem, I am ready for it, says Meera.
Medically, however, it has been proven that there is no difference in long-term survival rates between women who have undergone breast conservation or complete mastectomy. We can only offer breast conservation to 70-80% who are suitable for it or have come during the early stages of the disease, says Dr Deshmane.
STATISTICS
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women globally and accounts for 25% of all malignancies in women One in 30 women carry a lifetime risk of developing breast cancer. The corresponding figures for rural India are one in 90 and one in 8 in the US . Every 30 per lakh women develop breast cancer in Mumbai every year. The corresponding statistic is eight per lakh in rural India and 140 per lakh in USA. Around 90,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed every year in India. It is increasing at a rate of approximately 1 to 2% every year Of the one million cases of breast cancer occurring worldwide annually, nearly 5,80,000 cases occur in developed countries
SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS
Lump or thickening in or near the breast or in the underarm area. Change in the size or shape of the breast. Discharge or tenderness of the nipple Ridges or pitting of the breast (orange-peel effect). Changes in the look and feel of the nipple (swelling, redness etc)
RISK FACTORS
The risk increases with age History of cancer in one breast Family history of breast cancer involving mother, maternal grandmother, maternal aunts or sisters. Early onset of menstruation (before age 12). Late menopause (after age 55) First childbirth after age 30 . Breast feeding children for less than 6 months. Obesity.
EARLY DETECTION Doctors recommend:
All women should do a breast self-examination starting age 30 Women above 50 should do a breast self-examination and mammography once a year .
Publication:Times Of India Mumbai; Date:Oct 31, 2007; Section:Times City; Page Number:6