2 years, 2 months ago-
Cancer is certainly a harrowing term. Even with the support of family and friends, enduring cancer can be acutely difficult. Lots of cancer survivors recall the painful moment when they were diagnosed as one when their whole world came crashing down. A heavy fear and agony sets into the heart as one’s life appears to collapse right in front of one’s eyes. Dr Keerti Tewari, survivor of breast cancer, says that the most important thing to focus on is the ‘can’ in cancer. Cancer can be beaten, it can be overcome. The right attitude is crucial.
What she also equally stresses on is early diagnosis.
Breast cancer is not gender specific but it occurs more often in women. The National Cancer Registry Programme Report 2020, released by The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru, estimated that in 2020 breast cancer would contribute towards 14.8% of the cancer burden among women. In fact, cancer of the breast and cervix uteri was found to be the most common type of cancer in women.
Among women with breast cancer, post cancer survival is at 60% in India as compared to 80% in the U.S. With the statistics of breast cancer prevalence being so dire, the chances of survival don’t reflect the significant advancements made in cancer treatment. The survival rates in India are low because of late diagnosis and detection. More than 50% of cancer diagnosis has occurred in advanced stages. Like in the case of most diseases, earlier medical intervention can considerably boost the chances of a complete cure.
It is a matter of grave concern that there is limited awareness among women about the symptoms of breast cancer. As much as the word cancer is widely known, preventive steps and early detection is hardly a part of collective knowledge. Dr Rohan Kesarkar finds, in a random survey conducted among 200 women, that only one-third exhibited awareness on diagnosis, risk factors, government schemes and treatment concerning breast cancer. A startling 94% knew of cancer only as a jargon.
Self-examination is a crucial step towards detecting cancer at its nascent stage. While the population showing literacy in self-examination is poor, the number of women who actually practise it is even fewer. A lot of women blame their busy lives while some don’t find it important to spend time on. It is unfortunate that women discount their health and instead prioritise work, be it professional or domestic. Women are often overworked, especially at home and our familial ethos glorifies this self-effacement as ‘sacrifice’. This is an infuriating and unpalatable sentiment that prefers risking the health of women over actually sharing domestic responsibilities.
Women must begin taking their health seriously. Increasing literacy in preventive measures and self-examination significantly improves the chance of breast cancer survival. Every October is commemorated as Breast Cancer Awareness month internationally where many organisation conduct drives to improve awareness. In India many self-help groups and NGOs have taken such initiatives, especially in rural India where awareness is significantly low. At this juncture, it is important to realise that it is also every educated individual’s responsibility to ensure breast cancer literacy among the women in their life.
Breast cancer (BC), which accounts for 27 percent of all cancers in women in India, is the top malignancy among women. The increasing prevalence of breast cancer and, more crucially, the higher mortality rates among patients suffering from breast cancer are causing political and public health concerns. The lack of awareness and screening leading to the late presentation at advanced stages is one of the main causes of fatalities from high breast cancer. The current research, therefore, aims to investigate women in a low socio-economic neighborhood of Mumbai in terms of their understanding of breast cancer symptoms and risk factors.
In Prabhadevi, Mumbai, a cross-sectional study has been undertaken. 480 women aged 18–55 years collected primary data. In order to collect quantitative data concerning the awareness, signs, and signs of breast cancer, the structured questionnaire was utilized. To detect the social-demographic differences in breast cancer awareness among women, bivariate and multivariate regression techniques were applied. The analysis has shown that women living in India, regardless of their socio-economic and educational status, have low levels of literacy on cancer risk factors. National and national awareness efforts, involving several stakeholders in society and the health care system, are urgently needed in order to increase cancer literacy in India. In addition to the standard mammography, Digital Breast tomosynthesis (DBT), and early-stage breast biopsy procedures, molecular diagnostic developments, and therapies have resulted in numerous noninvasive predictive biomarker tests to diagnose breast cancer. Ki67 is a cell-proliferation protein biomarker for several cancer types. Higher marker levels correspond to faster growth of the tumor. HER2, cytokeratin (CK), CK7, CK8, CK18, and CK19 are other biomarkers that signal breast carcinomas and high tumor grades.
Within Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) the government established the Indischen Minister of Health’s Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF) in 2009, in order to provide and hasten the funding for the patients in need. This scheme, which covers the 27 Regional Cancer Centers (RCC) across the different sections of India, has assigned cash support between 2 lakh and 5 lakh rupeesNo, Many women aren’t aware of the Symptoms of breast cancer. Due to which every year in October through organizations they spread awareness about breast cancer which will be helpful for women by getting aware of breast cancer and their Symptoms. Some Signs of breast cancer like lump in the breast or underarm, swelling of part of the breast, Redness, pain in the nipple area, changes in size or shape of breast, pain in any area of breast these Symptoms may lead to breast cancer. Mostly older women suffers through breast cancer. Women need to be more careful about their health to not get affect from diseases, infections and breast cancer. Women should focus on their health and fitness to lower the risk factor of breast cancer and for that they need to focus on maintaining healthy lifestyle, balanced weight, not drinking alcohol, Avoid Smoking, drinking lots of water, etc. In India every year 1 million women are suffering from breast cancer. Through this we can see that women aren’t aware to of breast cancer and their risk factors. Their should be lack of awareness of breast cancer and solution for women to lower the risk factor of breast cancer. In rural areas also women don’t know about breast cancer and their Symptoms. Their should be organizations or campaigns who will help women in villages, to make awareness about breast cancer and their Symptoms with some solutions to lower the risk factor of breast cancer. So that women can adapt healthy lifestyle to stay away from breast cancer, diseases and infections. More than 41,000 women die due to diseases because some of them ignoring and some of them don’t take it seriously. Women need to take their health seriously and give priority for their health problems. And Organizations should spread lack of awareness about such diseases and infections.
Unfortunately, No women are not aware of Breast Cancer and those who are aware is because of reading somewhere or must have heard about it. But there are hardly people who discuss, in spite of knowing that it is a serious issue. According to reports, in the year 2020 around 2.3 billion women were diagnosed with breast cancer and 6,85,000 deaths took place globally.
Some symptoms are like swelling and thickening part of the breast, Irritation in the breast skin, Flaky skin in the breast etc. Some women believe that if they are old they cannot have breast cancer. There are many more such assumptions which are needed to be removed from women’s minds so that they can be protected from this life-taking disease. October is regarded as breast cancer awareness month. It was created to spread awareness among women. It should be used effectively and everyone has to talk about this issue in open. And early detection can save many lives through medication, care or some minor surgery.
Women healthcare system has to be improved because it’s not only important for her welfare but also the upcoming generations.
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