In Bhubaneswar, women in the age group between 25 to 49 years are more susceptible to breast cancer due to lifestyle changes, including sedentary life, alcohol, smoking, obesity and dyslipidemia, environmental factors, lack of breastfeeding besides delayed pregnancy, genetic and hereditary factors, said an assessment by Sparsh-AOI
As the month of October marks the breast cancer awareness worldwide, many organisations and individuals have taken up the task of raising awareness among patients and caregivers about the availability of treatment options even at advanced stages of the disease.
Advancements in treatment options for breast cancer include safe, effective and innovative targeted therapies to benefit advanced-stage breast cancer patients, increasing life expectancy and quality of life.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer affecting females in India accounting for 14 per cent of all cancers among women, one in 29 females is projected to develop breast cancer during their lifetime. Of these, more than 40 per cent of Indian women are diagnosed with advanced (stages 3 or 4) breast cancer.
“The ongoing pandemic posed various obstacles contributing to late diagnosis and poor treatment adherence, exacerbating challenges of limited screenings across rural and urban areas and poor health-seeking behaviors,” said the report.
According to Sparsh-AOI, medical oncologist MD Dr Ghanashyam Biswas, other challenges include social stigma, fear of cancer diagnosis or discussing the same with family members, shame over having a breast examination and alternative priorities, which result in women neglecting their health and delaying screenings and care, resulting in lowered patient survival rates at advanced-disease stages.
He said today, breast cancer has emerged as the most common form of cancer in Bhubaneswar and across the country, surpassing cervical cancer and accounting for 27 per cent of all women cancer cases.
“Unfortunately, even though breast cancer can be easily diagnosed through screenings, as many as 46 per cent of cases are detected in advanced stages of the disease, typically in the third or fourth stage, posing challenges to treatment,” said Biswas.
He further said diagnosis is often delayed owing to women’s fear and hesitancy in seeking helping, despite the presence of symptoms due to social stigma or lack of awareness.
The report added that awareness of risk factors may prompt greater self-breast examinations as well as screening, which can enable timely disease detection. There are a variety of treatment options available for breast cancer based on the individual’s specific case, including surgery, or chemotherapy or advanced targeted therapies and hormonal therapies, which can be adopted for advanced breast cancer cases as well, particularly to shrink the cancer or attack abnormal breast cancer cells without causing harm to normally functioning cells.
Newer targeted therapy advancements have also limited adverse side effects compared to more traditional forms of treatment such as chemotherapy, which can result in significant daily life compromises.
Many patients and their families believe that advanced-breast cancer represents the end of life. A pattern observed across Indian women and their caretakers, instead of spending on treatment for attaining an improved standard of care, patients and their caretakers believe to save money for future of families.
