Screening guidelines evolve to personalise BREAST CANCER CARE

OME summer, community activist Eutha Prince likes to give herself a present before going on vacation: a mammogram.

- Dr Jasmeet C Singh, breast medical oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York

It was during one such mammogram that doctors found something suspicious on her right breast. She was diagnosed with breast cancer following a biopsy and ultrasound. The doctors recommended a tailored treatment plan that included a course of immunotherapy before surgery. After undergoing a mastectomy, the doctors asked her to undergo radiation treatment and chemotherapy before breast reconstruction. About eight months after the final radiation therapy session, she underwent the procedure. Much has changed since. Eutha has resumed her job as the district manager for the community board in New York City's West Harlem neighborhood. She lives her life to the fullest, jubilant about the second chance she got.

Eutha is among many women who are lucky enough to beat this cancer because it was detected early. However, not everyone has a similar story to tell. The rising prevalence of breast cancer for decades has become a source of concern. Across the world, every 14 seconds, a woman is diagnosed with this cancer.

What is more alarming is that approximately half of those diagnosed have no other risk factors other than sex and age. In 2022, almost 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer and nearly 670,000 died of it. Furthermore, the prevalence and mortality rates widely differ between countries with high and low human development indexes, with the latter seeing higher deaths. In 2023, altogether there were more than two lakh cases and over 82,000 deaths in India.