Breast cancer is on rise in Chennai, says oncologist

Chennai: As part of observing World Breast Cancer month, Vasantha Memorial Trust in Ashok Nagar has been offering multiple services for detecting and curing breast cancer.

Vasantha Memorial Trust oncologist and managing trustee Dr Ramanathan Jayaraman told News Today, “As far as Chennai is concerned, the incidence of breast cancer is on the rise though the numbers provided by each survey keep varying. It is one of the most easily curable conditions; however, a majority of the women come for consultation only when it reaches the tumourous stage.”

“Two or three in 100 is the rough occurrence rate of breast cancer all over the country,” he added.

“However much awareness is created, the hesitation among the community persists and they are unclear of the symptoms. To clear the air, women employees of the trust are engaged in door-to-door knowledge building, where they approach women and explain what breast cancer is with models. We target 150 women every day and have so far, reached out to 1,30,000 women all over the State,” he added.

In addition, the trust conducts awareness classes on the premises of the hospital where self-examination of the organ, detection and symptoms are taught and the attendees are screened for cancer.

“If we find a bigger audience, we do PowerPoint presentation for explaining things,” he explained.

About the reasons for the continuous rise in cases, Dr Ramanathan pointed out that “Delay in conceiving a child and early puberty are the two major reasons apart from lifestyle changes. A woman should conceive within 15 years of attaining puberty. However, since marriage is delayed, it complicates and leads to breast cancer.”

Oral contraceptives, lifestyle changes and uncontrolled weight gain are a few of the other reasons that cause breast cancer, he said.

“Many women are prone to breast cancer due to overweight and lack of exercise. Thirty minutes of brisk walking is necessary to maintain a healthy body. Indian women must maintain their weight around 60 kg and not exceed it. Weight gain is prevalent even among young girls because of which they attain puberty early,” he added.

Vasantha Memorial Cancer Centre functions at No 33, 35th Street, Opp JFA Showroom, Ashok Nagar.

For details, contact Dr Ramanathan Jayaraman, oncologist and managing trustee, Vasantha Memorial Trust, at 98940 89370.

FREE TREATMENTS AND SESSIONS

To mark October as breast cancer awareness month, the Vasantha Memorial Trust has come up with various measures. It includes:

TREATMENT Women with breast cancer up to stage II can get chemotherapy totally free, those in stage III, 50 per cent, and stage IV, 25 per cent.

EDUCATION IN GROUPS OF 5 In a 15-minute sessions, women educators will educate women in groups of five about breast cancer basics and teach breast self-examination on a hand-held model. Women teachers and others above the age of 25 can avail of this free facility.

POWERPOINT PRESENTATION A trained educator will detail over 45 minutes on all aspects of breast cancer which includes risk factors, clinical presentation, detection, treatment and prevention. After that she will demonstrate breast self examination on a hand-held model.

FREE MAMMOGRAMS FOR WOMEN ABOVE 40 YEARS If they attend a class on breast cancer held at Vasantha Memorial Cancer Centre, Ashok Nagar, every Wednesday at 2 pm. Mammogram plus breast ultrasound at Rs 600 for all women