CHENNAI: With breast cancer now being diagnosed among Indian women in their 40s, unlike in the West where mostly women above the age of 50 are generally diagnosed with the same, oncologists demand for increased awareness on the symptoms and also on the need to identify it at an early stage. “A significant proportion of women are diagnosed with advanced stage at presentation, which may not be curable. This is due to the lack of cancer awareness, lack of implementation of screening strategies like the mammogram, lifestyle changes and the social stigma associated with cancer,” said Dr Manikandan Dhanushkodi, assistant Professor, Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Institute (WIA).
Despite being aware that breast cancer tops the list of cancers among women, awareness on the symptoms continues to be lacking. With October being identified as the Breast Cancer Awareness Month various NGOs and hospitals have been putting up campaigns and programmes to create awareness. However, doctors urge for the campaigns to continue beyond the month of October.
“Women tend to ignore an identified lump in their breast as something that is common. Any lump should be checked,” said Dr Syed Nusrath Farees, renowned oncologist from Hyderabad. There is an alarming rise in preventable risk factors in recent years with urbanisation and adoption of western lifestyles. These include smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, lesser duration of breastfeeding and the use of hormonal therapy.
“About 5 to 10 per cent of breast cancer can be genetic due to BRCA mutation. Women with a family history of breast cancer, breast and ovarian cancer, breast cancer in both breasts and male breast cancer patients need a genetic blood testing for possible BRCA mutation. BRCA mutant women have a very significant increase in their lifetime risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Hence preventive mastectomy of both breast and preventive surgery for the ovary (oophorectomy) is recommended,” said Dr Manikandan, adding that women should report any lump in their breast to the primary care doctor for evaluation.
Breast cancer in men not uncommon, say oncologists:
Have you ever heard of breast cancer awareness being a requirement among men? With reports stating that one in 300 men are diagnosed with breast cancer owing to various risk factors like obesity, family history, genetic disorders, alcohol consumption, liver disease and high levels of estrogen, oncologists state that the breast cancer awareness month should also focus on educating men about the possibility that they can develop the disease too.
With not many men being aware of this fact, they tend to ignore any abnormalities in their body at the initial stages. Oncologists say that this leads to delayed diagnosis and increased complications. “A lump in the breast is the most evident symptom, except in very old and very obese males. The number of men who develop breast cancer is pretty low, with doctors seeing no more than one or two cases a year,” said Dr Balaji, oncologist, Apollo Hospitals.
As the breast tissue available in males is little, the tumour tends to outgrow it and comes on to the skin on one side or it goes to the chest muscles on the other side. “The rise in obesity in the middle and upper middle class is the main factor causing breast cancer. Though the incidence is very low among men, they should be aware that they too could develop breast cancer. Mostly, the cases of breast cancer among men arise among those in their late 50s or early 60s,” said Dr S.K. Raja, an oncologist.
