Breast Cancer: Breast cancer is one of the most common diseases occurring in women today. It starts when some breast cells start growing faster than necessary and form a lump. If it is identified early, its treatment is possible to a great extent. But the problem becomes serious when this cancer starts spreading to other parts of the body. This process is called Metastasis. In this, cancer cells can reach other parts of the body like bones, lungs or liver through blood.
By the time women reach the hospital to show it, it has spread throughout their body, which doctors call ‘De Novo Metastatic Disease’. This has come to light in a large hospital-based study, which not only tells us about cancer but also about the condition of the entire Indian healthcare system.
What is study?
This research has been done on the basis of data of 76 thousand breast cancer patients of the hospital-based cancer registry of the National Cancer Registry. It was revealed that about 13 percent of women are victims of metastatic breast cancer, whereas in America this figure is about 6 percent. Apart from this, the study also found that many women in India get treatment only at stage 3 or stage 4, which makes the treatment complicated and expensive. Late investigation, lack of awareness and lack of regular screening are considered to be the major reasons for this.
What is the reason?
This study has made it clear that age is not directly related to metastatic disease, nor are pre-existing diseases like diabetes or hypertension the main reason. The real reason is the nature of the tumor. How big the tumor is, how aggressive it is and how far it has spread in the body, all these things decide the severity of the disease.
What do experts say?
Dr. Geeta Kadayapratha, lead of Apollo Athena Women Cancer Center, says that breast cancer spreads mainly in two ways. First, through the lymph nodes, which spread the infection through the breast to the armpits, neck and chest. Second, through the bloodstream. There is a large network of blood vessels in the breast, which transports cancer cells to the bones, spine and pelvis. He further said that the spread of cancer also depends on its type. Hormone-sensitive cancer usually spreads quickly to the bones, while triple negative breast cancer is more aggressive and can often spread to the brain and lungs, as well as affect the liver.
Also read – Heart Attack Risk In Healthy People: Why are people who look absolutely fit getting heart attacks? Know the real reason from the doctor
hospital selection
This aspect of the study has revealed a serious picture. The risk of metastasis was found to be relatively low in women who were treated in hospitals run by private NGOs. At the same time, this risk was seen more in women undergoing treatment in government or public cancer centres. This gap could be due to several reasons, such as delay in testing, lack of facilities, long queues and lack of timely access to specialist doctors. This exposes a bitter reality of India’s healthcare system, where timely treatment and lack of awareness still remains a major challenge.
Also read – Aspirin Cancer Prevention: Can aspirin reduce the risk of cancer? Know the reason behind this
Check out below Health Tools-
Calculate Your Body Mass Index (BMI)
Calculate The Age Through Age Calculator
