Indian Women Succumb to Breast Cancer Every 8 Minutes

Woman in India suffers due to breast cancer every eight minutes and with 165,000 new cases being annually reported. Breast cancer has overtaken cervical cancer to become the most common cancer affecting women in the country, said leading breast surgeon Dr. P. Raghu Ram in an annual conference. "Even more alarming is that, when compared to the West where breast cancer presents most often after 50 years, in India, breast cancer presents at least a decade earlier with peak incidence in younger women between 40-50 years. More than 70 percent present in the advanced stages," said Ram, the director of KIMS-Ushalakshmi Centre for Breast Diseases.

10th Annual Conference and its Outcomes

In his address at the 10th Annual Conference of the Association of Breast Surgeons of India (ABSICON 2022), inaugurated by KNR University of Health Sciences Vice Chancellor Dr. Karunakar Reddy, Ram said that since breast cancer can’t be prevented, the only way to fight the disease is through early detection.

The government must focus upon creating much more awareness about the importance of early detection by addressing the ’taboo’ issue surrounding the disease, particularly in rural India where more than 70% of the population reside in addition to streamlining the pan-India implementation of the population-based Breast Cancer Screening Program, which is already functional through the National Health Mission, he said.

Ram said that the Association of Breast Surgeons of India (ABSI) must play a lead role in developing the concept of breast care nurses, who will play a pivotal role in supporting, comforting and reassuring patients and their relatives.

"I look forward to ABSI evolving into a truly multidisciplinary organization with integration of breast radiologists and breast pathologists in its fold, who are, in fact, the eyes and ears to a breast surgeon," he said.

The ABSI represents general surgeons, surgical oncologists and plastic surgeons and has rapidly emerged to become the voice for surgeons all over India practicing the art and science of breast surgery.

For the first time, it is ABSI that is partnering with The Association of Breast Surgery in the UK (ABS UK), and the Breast Imaging Society of India (BISI), which represents radiologists.

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Ram, who is the chairman of organizing committee for ABSICON 2022, said that a conscious effort has been made to bring together three associations under one platform to emphasize the importance of multidisciplinary care in the assessment and management of breast cancer, a most common disease in women.

ABSI President Dr. S.P. Somashekhar commended Ram for his outstanding leadership role in nurturing ABSI since its inception. "Most breast cancer surgeries in the country are done by general surgeons. I am proud of the various initiatives implemented by the Association to improve the knowledge and skill sets of Surgeons, particularly in smaller towns across India through the implementation of ABSI Training Module in addition to funding bright young surgeons to train at world-renowned centers of excellence in the UK."

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Dr. Karunakar Reddy said that he was happy to note that the three-day conference will deliberate about the best evidence-based practice guidelines covering every aspect of breast cancer care, advocacy, early detection and benign non-cancer-related breast health issues as well.

Source-IANS