October is celebrated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Children with family history of breast cancer could be at higher risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. Early surveillance of such people and investigations are a must to rule out the cancer at an early stage and take remedial measures, said Dr Rajeev Kumar, Sr. Consultant & Chief of Breast Surgical Oncology, Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre (RGCIRC). October is celebrated as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
It has been observed that 5 per cent of breast cancer incidence is genetic and is transmitted from the parents, both mother and father to the children through a gene called BRCA gene placed on the ‘X’ chromosome. Children born with the BRCA gene have a 10 times greater chance of developing breast and/or ovarian cancer in their lifetime.
All the high risk people i.e. those with family history of breast cancer should undergo BRCA gene testing which is now widely available at major cancer care centres and has become affordable.
Breast and ovarian cancers are the two most common cancers in BRCA positive women. It is advisable to go for removal of ovary and fallopian tubes and undergo prophylactic mastectomy i.e. removal of breasts with reconstruction after the family is complete in case of BRCA positive women.
RGCIRC has undertaken BRCA testing for over 700 women so far. As many as 25 per cent of the patents were found to be BRCA positive. In about 100 cases ovaries were removed and 30 women have undergone prophylactic mastectomy with reconstruction of breasts. That makes RGCIRC one of the major centres where so many prophylactic surgeries have been carried out.
Breast cancer can be easily detected through mammograms or even through self-breast examination. Unfortunately ovarian cancer presents itself in an advanced stage so it is advised to remove the ovaries after the family is complete in BRCA positive women. Therefore it is recommended that those who are BRCA positive should be under regular surveillance under an expert.
However in cases where it is not genetic, the trend today is “Breasts Big or Small – Save them all”. With the help of recent advancements and oncoplastic surgeries all breasts can be conserved or reconstructed. Even in case of large lumps, breasts can be saved as the size of the lumps can be reduced with the help of chemotherapy.
With new treatment methodologies, morbidity has been minimized and the quality of life has gone up. A woman is discharged the very next day of breast cancer surgery and resumes normal work routine within a few days, added Dr Rajeev Kumar.
It may be noted that every lump in the breast is not a cancer. Generally only 30-40 per cent of lumps in the breast are cancerous, the rest are not. Even if a lump is cancerous, that is not a dead-end and can be cured.
Blindly aping western lifestyles, late marriages, late child birth or no child birth, avoidance of breast feeding etc have led to significant increase in breast cancer cases, said Dr Rajeev Kumar.
Breast cancer is common in India and generally one in eight women get afflicted with breast cancer.
Common symptoms that patients of breast cancer present themselves with are painless breast lump, blood stained nipple discharge, nipple retraction and lump in the underarm or armpit.