BREAST CANCER ON RISE but so is awareness

    It is a scary statistic: one in every 30 Mumbai women stands the risk of developing breast cancer in her lifetime. It is only a wee better in other metro cities. But in October, which is breast cancer awareness month, there is heartening news— more patients are coming earlier for treatment, resulting in better survival rates—say doctors.
    Says Dr Rajan Badwe, director of Tata Memorial Hospital and a renowned cancer surgeon, “When I joined the profession in 1982, the average size of the tumour was 6.5 cm. Now it is 2.5 cm.’’ He says this is the result of better awareness about the disease as well as self-breast examination. Dr S H Advani, one of the country’s best-known medical oncologists, points out that until a few years back 80% of the women coming for treatment were in stage III or IV of the disease. “This has come down to 60%, with more women coming to us early,’’ he adds.
    Breast cancer, which has replaced cervical cancer as the leading cancer among women living in urban centres, is increasingly being viewed as a lifestyle disease. “Its incidence is increasing because of late marriages, later age of bearing children, fewer children, shorter lactation period and lack of physical exercise,’’ says Dr Advani. While genetics do play a role in breast cancer, experts feel lifestyle contributes more.
    Dr B B Yeole of the Indian Cancer Society who is associated with the Indian Cancer Registry project says, “The 20-year-odd data from urban centres such as Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai shows incidence has more than doubled in this period. In rural centres such as Barshi near Sangli, however, it is still low.’’ But the five-year survival rate for breast cancer patients in India has increased. “This figure is now 50% in many cities which is good,’’ he says.
    Pointing to superior surgical and chemotherapy options now available, Dr Advani says, “Availability of gene-based therapy has been the biggest change in the field of breast cancer.’’ He says thanks to drugs such as trastuzumab, there is no need for the age-old “lumpsum drug treatment. Tests show who will respond to which drug. This saves costs as well as time for the patient, resulting in better outcomes,’’ says Advani.
    But doctors don’t see the surge coming down soon. “In the next 10 years, the incidence in Mumbai will rise to 60 women in every 1,00,000 population getting the disease every year,’’ says Dr Badwe. The advice is standard: cutting down on obesity, early motherhood and breast-feeding for a year.
A Survivor’s Story
Minu (name changed) is a busy businesswoman. But four years back, it was different. “At 33, with two miscarriages behind me, I learnt I had breast cancer,’’ she says. Seven months of chemotherapy and a breast conserving surgery later, she is cancer-free for three years. “I now work out and do pranayam for 45 minutes daily,’’ she adds.