Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October at Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Center

October is Breast Cancer awareness month and Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Center is conducting a 15 day long screening camp on its Health city campus from 25th October till 7th November in an effort to spread awareness among rural women.

No matter where you go, whenever you see a pink ribbon you automatically know what it stands for. The pink ribbon is widely found on a variety of merchandise and apparel and people automatically associate it with breast cancer without having to think about it. Today it not only shows support for the cause, but the pink breast cancer awareness ribbon stands for the sisterhood that helps women survive and conquer the disease. Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Center is conducting a 15 day long screening camp on its Health city campus from 25th October till 7th November. It is an effort to spread awareness about Breast Cancer among women in India.

The incidence in India in the major cities is 26 per lakh population but in the rural areas it is around 8 per lakh population. Prognosis and survival varies greatly depending on cancer type and the stage of the disease. Computerized models are available to predict survival with best treatment. Depending on the staging the 10-year disease-free survival varies from 98% in early stages to less than 10%.in the advanced stage. Treatment includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy including hormone therapy. In India breast cancer comprises 26% of all cancers among women, making it the most common cancer in women.

One in twenty two Indian women would get breast cancer. Some of these cancers are sensitive to hormones like estrogen which makes it possible to treat them by blocking the effects of this hormone in the target tissues. These have better prognosis and require less Aggressive treatment than hormone negative cancers. Radiation is usually given to the surgical bed to control cancer cells that were missed by the surgery, which usually extends survival rate and reduces local recurrence.

Screening for Indian women
Breast cancer screening is meant for healthy women to achieve an earlier diagnosis. Early detection will improve outcomes and reduce cost of treatment. A number of screening tests have been employed including:
1. Self breast Examination
2. Clinical Breast examination
3. Mammography
4. Genetic screening
5. Ultrasound and
6. MRI

A clinical or self examination involves feeling the breast for a lump or other abnormalities. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends mammography every two years in women between the ages of 50 and 74. In India women get cancer a decade earlier and so they recommend that a woman gets a mammogram starting from the age of 40 and then every 2 years.

In women at high risk, such as those with a strong family history of cancer, mammography screening is recommended at an earlier age and additional testing may include genetic screening and an MRI SCAN yearly from age of 25. Since young women have dense breasts a mammogram may not be that helpful and so we recommend an ultrasound of the breast every year for Indian women from the age of 40

Holistic approach:
The treatment of breast cancer requires a dedicated team involving Oncoplastic breast surgeons, medical oncologist, radiation therapist, plastic surgeons, etc. The outcome/results of such an approach are far superior compared to the single specialty or consultant approach. Prevention and early detection should be the priority and the October month is dedicated to screening as many cases as possible.

Risk factors
The important risk factors that have been identified are sex age, lack of childbearing or breastfeeding, higher hormone levels, race and economic status.
Women can reduce their risk by maintaining a healthy weight, drinking less alcohol, being physically active and breastfeeding their children. It is said that 38% of breast cancer cases are preventable through reducing alcohol intake, increasing physical activity levels and maintaining a healthy weight. 

Only 5% of breast cancerous are attributed to Heredity and close to 50% were attributed to known risk factors. In more recent years, research has emphasized the impact of risk factors such as a high-fat diet, alcohol intake, obesity, environmental factors, tobacco use, and radiation. In addition to the risk factors specified above, demographic and medical risk factors include:

Past history of breast cancer: A woman who had breast cancer in one breast has an increased risk of getting cancer in her other breast.

Family history: A woman's risk of breast cancer is higher if her mother, sister, or daughter had breast cancer. The risk is higher if her family member got breast cancer before age 40. 

There was a study of 72,000 women conducted by the National cancer institute found that those who had a normal body mass index at age 20 and gained weight as they aged had nearly double the risk of developing breast cancer after menopause in comparison to women maintained their weight.