Age for developing breast cancer comes down: Minister

Chennai: The average age for women to develop breast cancer had come down from 50 to 70 years to 30 to 50 years, marking a recent spike in the incidence of breast cancer among younger women, State Health Minister M Subramanian said on Monday.

Speaking at a Breast Cancer Awareness event, organized by VS Hospitals in association with Ethiraj College for Women, the Minister said: “Breast cancer is one of the most common and aggressive forms of cancer in India and more than 2 lakh women in India were estimated to have been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020. One woman gets diagnosed with breast cancer every 4 minutes in India, and one woman dies of breast cancer every 13 minutes.’

Around 800 students from Ethiraj College stood together carrying pink umbrellas to form the pink ribbon on the Madras University ground, marking the launch of the new initiative “Pink India Movement” by the Minister in the presence of V M Muralidharan, Chairman of Ethiraj College, and S Subramanian, Founder Chairman & Managing Director of VS Group of Hospitals.

Subramanian, who is the senior practicing medical oncologist in the country said incidence of breast cancer in Chennai was the highest at 42.2 per lakh and those with a genetic predisposition faced a higher risk.