Experts concerned over rise in breast cancer cases

City based Oncologists have expressed concern over the sharp rise in the number of breast cancer cases.

They maintained that half of breast cancer deaths in India are preventable if the disease is presented on time. Regular screening not only saves lives by diagnosing the disease at an early stage, but also allows doctors to undertake less toxic and less disfiguring treatments. 

According to estimates of WHO, roughly 144, 937 women in India were detected with breast cancer in 2012 and 70,218 died of it. With the incidents of the disease rising by more than 20 per cent since 2008, India is expected to have a whopping 200,000 new cases of breast cancer by 2030, the WHO report remarked.

In view of the situation, the doctors said women should be aware of any change in size, shape of breast or any abnormal discharge and if there are any abnormalities, a doctor should be consulted immediately. Annual mammography after the age of 40 years is recommended to detect breast cancer at an early age. 

Doctors feel that mass awareness is required to combat spread of the disease. They said another less talked about aspect of breast cancer is the prevalence of the disease in men. Most of the treatment available in India is adapted for women, but men may have breast cancer too, though the disease is rarer in men. They maintained that breast cancer is curable if detected early.

The doctors maintained that body weight should be checked at regular intervals. They said that obesity is associated with an increased risk of 13 types of cancer and breast cancer is one of them. 

Studies revealed that high body mass index and premenopausal obesity is strongly linked to breast cancer. Exercise is a breast- friendly habit and a daily moderate to heavy exercise of 30 minutes at least five days a week has been found to substantially lower risk of breast cancer.