Help India’s Women Fight Breast Cancer Together

Quality healthcare is the need of the hour. According to a study conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Harvard University, only 37% of women in India receive healthcare. In India, breast cancer and essentially, a breast tumour is the second most common type of cancer in women after skin cancer.

The Percentage Of Breast Cancer In Indian Women

Breast cancer accounts for 14% of cancers in Indian women. It is reported that an Indian woman is diagnosed with breast cancer every four minutes! 

Breast cancer is becoming more common in both rural and urban India. According to a 2018 report on Breast Cancer statistics, there were 1,62,468 new cases registered and 87,090 reported deaths.

More than half of Indian women are diagnosed with stage 3 or 4 breast cancer, which is a grim fact, considering that cancer survival chances reduce as cancer progresses. 

Delayed Diagnosis Among Indians 

Because of a lack of awareness around breast cancer in India, more women are being diagnosed at advanced stages, adversely affecting the chances of their survival. . Late diagnosis also means that these women must endure arduous treatments that are both physically and mentally taxing.

Women can self-diagnose their condition to be alert around the presence of lumps or masses potentially indicating the presence of cancerous outgrowths. The reason for India's low breast cancer survival rate is due to a lack of awareness, as well as poor early screening and diagnosis rates.

Also read:

“Do I Have Cancer?” And Other Commonly Googled Cancer Questions

What Is Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer is a disease in which cells in the breast grow out of control. There are various types of breast cancer types of breast tumours. The type of breast cancer is determined by which cells in the breast develop into cancer.

Breast cancer can develop in a variety of locations within the breast. A breast is composed of three major components: lobules, ducts, and connective tissue. The glands that produce milk are known as lobules. Ducts are tubes that transport milk to the nipple. The connective tissue (fibrous and fatty tissue) surrounds and holds everything together. The majority of breast cancers start in the ducts or lobules. Breast cancer can spread outside of the breast via blood and lymph vessels. Breast cancer is said to have metastasized when it spreads to other parts of the body.

What Are The Types Of Breast Cancer?

There are many different types of breast cancer, each defined by where it begins to grow in the breast, how much it has grown or spread, and certain characteristics that influence how cancer behaves. The type of breast cancer you have will help you and your doctor determine the best treatment options for you.

Learn about the various types of breast cancer:

1. Invasive breast cancer

When breast cancer is called invasive (or infiltrating), it means it has spread into the surrounding breast tissue. The two most common types of invasive breast cancer are defined by where in the breast they begin to grow:

Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) is invasive breast cancer that starts in the milk ducts, the tubes that carry milk from the lobules to the nipple. It is the most common type of breast cancer; about 80% of all breast cancers are invasive ductal carcinomas.

Invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) is invasive breast cancer that starts in the lobules, the glands in the breast that produce milk. It is the second most common type of breast cancer; about 10% of all invasive breast cancers are invasive lobular carcinomas.

2. Non-invasive breast cancer

When breast cancer is called non-invasive (or in situ) it means it has not spread beyond the breast tissue where it started. Non-invasive breast cancers are also called precancers. There are two main types of non-invasive breast cancer:

Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), is non-invasive breast cancer that has not spread outside the milk ducts where it started. DCIS isn’t life-threatening, but is considered a precursor to invasive breast cancer and increases the risk of developing invasive breast cancer later in life. About 16% of all breast cancer diagnoses are DCIS.

Lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), is non-invasive breast cancer that has not spread outside the lobules where it started. Despite its name, LCIS is a benign breast condition and is not a true breast cancer.

There are several other less common types of breast cancer, such as Paget’s disease, external icon medullary, mucinous, and inflammatory breast cancer

Treatment For Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer treatment options are determined by the doctor based on the type of cancer, its stage and grade, size, and whether the cancer cells are hormone-sensitive. The doctor will also take into account your overall health as well as your personal preferences.

Most women have breast cancer surgery, and many receive additional treatment after surgery, such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy, or radiation. In some cases, chemotherapy may be used prior to surgery.

There are numerous medical treatment options for breast cancer, and you may feel overwhelmed as you make complex treatment decisions. Seek a second opinion from a breast specialist at a breast centre or clinic. Speak with other women who have made the same choice.

Some treatments eliminate or destroy the disease within the breast and surrounding tissues, such as lymph nodes. These are some examples:

Surgery

The first step for most people is to remove the tumour. A lumpectomy is a surgical procedure that removes only the cancerous portion of your breast. It's also known as breast-conserving surgery. During a mastectomy, the entire breast is removed. Mastectomies and lumpectomies come in a variety of styles.

Radiation treatment

High-energy waves are used in this treatment to kill cancer cells. Most women under the age of 70 who have a lumpectomy also have radiation. If the disease has spread, doctors may also recommend this method. It aids in the destruction of any cancer cells that the surgeon was unable to remove. Radiation can be delivered by a machine outside your body, or it can be delivered by tiny seeds that emit radiation and are implanted inside your breast where the tumour was.

Other treatments either destroy or control cancer cells throughout your body:

Chemotherapy 

Chemo employs the use of drugs to kill cancer cells. The medications are administered either orally or intravenously. The majority of people get it after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left behind. Doctors also use it before surgery to shrink tumours. Chemotherapy is effective against cancer, but it can also harm healthy cells.

Additional reading:

Understanding Chemotherapy Treatment For Cancer Patients

Hormone therapy 

This treatment involves the use of medications to prevent hormones, particularly oestrogen, from fueling the growth of breast cancer cells. Tamoxifen (Nolvadex) is used to treat women before and after menopause, and aromatase inhibitors such as anastrozole (Arimidex), exemestane (Aromasin), and letrozole (Femara) are used to treat postmenopausal women. Some forms of this therapy work by preventing the ovaries from producing hormones, either surgically or through medication. 

Targeted therapy 

Targeted therapy such as fam-trastuzumab-deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu), lapatinib (Tykerb), pertuzumab (Perjeta), and trastuzumab (Herceptin) trigger your body’s immune system to help destroy cancer cells. These medicines target breast cancer cells that have high levels of a protein called HER2. T-DM1, or ado-trastuzumab emtansine (Kadcyla), is a medicine that combines Herceptin and the chemotherapy medicine emtansine to target HER2-positive cancer cells. Abemaciclib (Verzenio), palbociclib (Ibrance), and ribociclib (Kisqali) are often used with an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant (Faslodex), in women with certain types of advanced cancer. Abemaciclib (Verzenio) can be used alone in women who have already been treated with hormone therapy and chemotherapy.

Alpelisib (Piqray) is a PI3K inhibitor that treats breast cancer in men and women who have a certain gene change resulting from treatment with hormonal therapy. Neratinib (Nerlynx) also works against HER2-positive breast cancer by blocking the cancer cells from getting growth signals. A new class of drugs called PARP (poly ADP ribose polymerase) inhibitors targets an enzyme that feeds cancer cells. PARP inhibitors include olaparib (Lynparza) and talazoparib (Talzenna).

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy targets cancer by utilising your own immune system. To treat triple-negative breast cancer that has spread, the drugs atezolizumab (Tecentriq) and sacituzumab govitecan-hziy (Trodelvy) has been approved.

Source: Canva

Cost Of Breast Cancer Treatment In India:

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