To mark the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Orissa POST interacts with Dr Sourav K Mishra, a medical oncologist from the City, to know more about the disease, its prevention, and advancement in oncology care. Excerpts:
What is the magnitude of breast cancer in Odisha?
In India around 11 lakh new cases of cancer are diagnosed annually. The most common cancer cases found among women is breast cancer. In Odisha the breast cancer cases are also higher. While the whole country records around 1.60 lakh cases of breast cancer, the number of such cases in Odisha is also high.
What are the reasons you see behind breast cancer?
There are several reasons responsible for this. The most common is the age factor. Women above the age of 40 years are more prone to such cancers. Obesity, unhealthy lifestyle and others are also attributed to the cancer. It was found that 10 out of 100 breast cancers are found to have genetic reasons. Hormonal imbalance like increased level of female hormone-estrogen is also a cause.
What the reasons behind higher incidences of breast cancers in Odisha?
One thing is lack of awareness on the issue and second, the stigma attached to it. Many women patients, who just start getting lumps in breasts or any other visible signs of breast cancer, live with the pain but seldom visit doctors out of shyness. In most cases, patients arrive in advanced stages of cancer.
How can we prevent breast cancer related deaths?
In developed countries, regular screening for breast cancer like mammography is regularly undertaken when a woman crosses 40 years. In our country very few people go for a preventive screening and many do not know about this. Regular check-ups for women post 40 is very necessary. Moreover, the practice of breastfeeding also reduces the chances of breast cancer as it reduces the quantum of estrogen hormone in the body.
What are the new modalities of cancer treatment?
The designer drugs have revolutionised cancer therapy by improving survival and with very limited toxicities. Gone are the days when chemotherapy was the only option for advanced breast cancer. Chemo is for advanced cases and also a general treatment for all cancer cases. Now, cancer therapy also includes targeted therapy, immunotherapy and genetic mutation directed therapy which work on the principle of precision oncology or personalized medicine.
How costly are the advanced treatments for breast cancer?
The latest therapies like precise therapies, immunotherapy and hormonal therapies involve very less side effects as compared to chemo therapy but they are a little costly. The cost of precise therapy ranges around Rs 1-Rs 2 lakh per cycle, whereas the cost of chemo therapy ranges from Rs 10,000-Rs 20,000 per cycle.