Indore: As per the GLOBOCON survey 2018, over 1.62 lakh new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed and 87,090 patients died every year in India.
Addressing a webinar on Breast Cancer Awareness month organized by Choithram College of Nursing on Saturday, IMA National Chairman of Cancer and Tobacco Control Committee Dr Dilip Acharya said, “Many countries in the world have a higher incidence of breast cancer than India but their mortality rate is comparatively low while the patients are diagnosed and treated at an early stage.”
Along with emphasizing on self diagnoses, he also informed about breast pain and lumps that are two most common complaints for which patients, irrespective of their age, seek doctors’ advice and end up as a cancer patient.
“Although nearly 80-85 per cent of breast lumps are not malignant (Cancer), all lumps must be investigated before coming to a final conclusion. As compared to Indians, the incidence of breast cancer is high in Americans and Canadians as one out of every 8 women is diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime (1:8). Number of cases in India is very low but late diagnosis is a major hurdle,” he added.
Dr Acharya also informed that males too have breast cancer as 1 out of every 100 patients of breast cancer is a male and their treatment options are the same.
He also informed about the reasons of the disease and its ways of prevention which includes regular exercise, healthy food intake, and self examination.
