Addressing the seminar, Prof. P K Julka of AIIMS reiterated that cancer of the breast is the leading cause of cancer in women in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. This is due to urbanized lifestyle, mental stress and strain, increased age of first pregnancy, failure to breast feed, use of hormone replacement treatment and also some non-modifiable factors like mutations in BRCA 1 and 2 genes, family history of breast or ovarian cancer in first degree relatives and benign breast disease with atypical features.
Dr. Partha Mukhopadhyay, Consultant Oncologist, Moolchand Medcity stressed on the early diagnosis of breast cancer which gives better chances of complete cure. He also said that unfortunately, most of the patients still make themselves present at an advanced stage, thus compromising on the chances of cure.
The role of mammography in detecting breast cancer in non-palpable, microscopic stage is immense, said Dr. Rahul Sachdeva. He also said that every woman above the age of 40 must have an yearly mammography done.
Dr. B Niranjan Naik, Consultant Oncosurgeon, Moolchand Medcity said that in an early stage disease, the breast can be preserved without compromising on the result of the treatment, with good cosmesis and quality of life. He recommended the use of IV access ports (chemoports)
Dr. Julka appealed that more awareness campaigns on prevention and early detection of breast cancer is necessary to halt the rising menace of the disease.
The session was chaired by Dr. Sheila Mehra, Dr. B M L Kapoor and Dr. S K Nair. Along with other panelists, Dr. Rashmi Sharma, Dr. Shikha Halder, Dr. Shanti Vardhan, Dr. Raj Bokaria and Dr. Manju Hotchandani, they recommended that fighting the menace of breast cancer can only be done by spreading the awareness of early detection.
