Lower Your Risk For Breast Cancer

This killer disease may be on the rise but women are far from powerless to keep it at bay

- Lisa Bendall And Ishani Nandi

CURRENTLY, BREAST CANCER IS THE MOST COMMON cancer among women worldwide. In India, it is the number one female cancer, occurring at an age-adjusted* rate as high as 25.8 per 1,00,000 women, according to the Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology. Equally concerning is that the mortality rate among breast cancer patients in India is fairly high—12.7 per 1,00,000 women. As Ravi Mehrotra, director, National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research explains—“The major reason for a low survival rate of breast cancer in India is that the awareness about this disease is very low. Most cases come to us at third or fourth stages [45.7 per cent to be exact] where treatment is difficult,” he says, in an article published by Mint earlier this year. “A lot of younger women in India get aggressive cancer and seek help late. About 50 per cent of cases live no more than five years after detection,” adds Dr Ramesh Sarin, an onco-surgeon at Delhi’s Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals with more than 40 years of experience.

The risk factors associated with this disease in India range widely, from genetic—age, family history, type of breast tissue and age at which menstruation begins and ends—to lifestyle-related: environmental factors, tobacco and alcohol consumption, diet, diminished levels of physical activity, obesity and high body mass index (BMI), among others.

Timely testing and risk assessment can greatly ameliorate the mortality rate through early detection, but simple preventives can also help reduce chances of breast cancer. “Lifestyle interventions and regular screening allow for early diagnosis and treatment—the two most important factors in combating breast cancer,” according to Sarin.