October is the breast cancer awareness month, which calls for increasing awareness about the disease. Observed all over the world, the campaign will this year focuses on making people aware about steps to detect the disease in its early stages and debunking myths associated with the disease. The campaign earlier has helped a lot in increasing awareness but still more needs to be done about it.
Here are some facts about breast cancer in India
Most common type of cancer affecting women: According to breastcancerindia.net, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer affecting women in India. The worldwide scenario is even scarier. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer could overtake heart ailments as the leading killer. Estimates suggest that by 2030, new cases could rise to 27 million with up to 17 million deaths.
More number of young women are getting the disease: It has been noted that gradually the age group getting detected with the disease is slowly shifting to 30-50 years from 60-70 years. More and more young women are getting diagnosed with the disease, which is why India needs more efforts to spread awareness about early screening of the disease, especially among young women. With that in mind, Sri Ramakrishna Institute of Oncology and Research in Coimbatore has set up a mammography unit in a van that is scheduled to visit nearby districts in the region for a week, and women can get a mammogram done free of cost.
It is spreading to rural areas: According to statistics, breast cancer is no longer affecting women in urban areas. The number of women getting diagnosed with the disease is increasing in rural areas. Data suggests as many as 1.6 million cases of breast cancer are reported every year.
Lifestyle changes to blame: Specialists highlight that the drastic shift in lifestyle and dietary habits has increased the prevalence of the disease in urban women. Lactating for lesser time, avoiding pregnancy are a few factors linked to early onset of the disease.
It has overtaken cervical cancer: Estimates suggest that breast cancer has overtaken cervical cancer as the most common cancer among women, at least in major metropolitan cities like Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi.
Photo source: Getty images
You may also like to read:
- ‘Virtual breast’ to make cancer detection easier
- 12 risk factors for breast cancer you should know
- 6 breast cancer symptoms you should never ignore
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Breast Cancer Awareness Month: 5 Shocking facts about breast cancer in India
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