Check your platter to check breast cancer

Of all types of cancer affecting women, breast cancer is the most prevalent among those living in cities, said experts blaming the urban diet and lifestyle more than anything else.  

They believe that urban women are more likely to develop breast cancer than their rural counterparts.

Dr Mahesh Bandemegal, consultant, surgical oncologist, HCG says, “There has been an increase in the number of incidences by 15 to 20% when compared with the past decade and the victims are getting younger. Diet is a suspected contributing factor for many types of cancers, including breast cancer. Red meat and other animal fat, including dairy fat in cheese, milk, and ice-cream are best avoided. A low-fat diet rich in fruits and vegetables is generally recommended.”

Moreover, an increasing number of urban women today are working and a majority of them prefer a late marriage. Women who give birth to their first child after the age of 35 may have an increased risk of breast cancer, he added. “Studies show that the risk of breast cancer amplifies with the intake of alcohol. Alcohol can limit your liver’s ability to control the levels of estrogen in the blood, which in turn, can increase risk of breast cancer. Smoking, too, increases the risk of breast cancer,” said Dr Bandemegal.

However, about five to 10% of breast cancers linked to inherited changes (mutations) in certain genes. “The most common changes are those of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes. Women with these gene changes run high risk of being affected with breast cancer during their lifetime. Women who have had breast cancer cases in close blood relations are also susceptible to carrying it in their genes. The relatives can either be from the mother’s or father’s side,” said Dr Bandemegal.

A woman with cancer in one breast stands the risk of it spreading to the other one, said Dr Bandemegal. “However, unlike a few years ago, now there is absolutely no need to remove the entire breast. Rather breast conservation surgery is advocated,’’ he said.

The good news is that breast cancer has always been in the focus of cancer-related researches and the treatment procedure is advancing by the day. “Breast cancer has a multimodality treatment and in each front we are adding new technology.

Breast cancer forms the most important part of cancer research and the treatment is done through systematic therapy, where we are adding newer targeted agents or immunotherapy, chemo-therapy and hormonal therapy, every few months,” said Dr Niti Raizada Narang, medical oncologist, Vikram Hospital and Fortis Hospital, Cunningham Road.

Awareness is still low in India. Thus, in the West while the survival rate is high, in India, one patient in every 13 minutes dies of breast cancer. “Most cases come to us at an advanced stage. However, breast cancer is a curable disease if detected at an early stage,” said Dr Narang.