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Breast Cancer: A Ticking Time Bomb
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India has seen a galloping upward trend in the incidence of breast cancer over the past few decades. It has become the commonest cancer amongst women in the country, surpassing cervical cancer. Lack of awareness coupled with fear, misinformation, myths, and beliefs, contribute to a presentation at the late stages of the disease. The outcomes of treatment are negatively impacted by the delayed presentation and are further compounded by a fragmented healthcare system. To tackle this, a concerted large-scale effort is the urgent need of the hour. On the one hand, we need to have persistent and consistent community-based awareness which motivates preventive and early health-seeking behaviour amongst women. On the other hand, planned and streamlined services for cancer care consisting of well-established qualitative infrastructure along with trained experts need to be developed so as to provide accessible, affordable, and standardized screening for early detection and treatment of breast cancer. Attention also needs to be paid to issues not directly linked to cancer treatment, but arising from it such as fertility preservation in young women diagnosed with breast cancer and the comprehensive care for breast cancer survivors.
Keywords
breast cancer, India, the healthcare gaps, early detection and screening, bridge model of healthcare.
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