In October, the medical fraternity across India took part in a campaign to create awareness about the deadly disease as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. According to several experts, the number of women under the age of 35 who develop breast cancer in India is steadily increasing, and the cause is obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.

Dr. Niti Raizada, Director of Medical Oncology and Hemato-Oncology, Fortis Group of Hospitals, Bangalore, stated that according to data from GloboCan 2020, a total of 1.78 lakh women in India are diagnosed with breast cancer annually. She added that unlike in the west, where cancer is more frequently observed in women over 55 years of age, in India, breast cancer is prevalently seen in the age group of 35 to 50 years.

Dr. Vipin Goel, Senior Consultant, and Laparoscopic Surgeon, Surgical Oncology, CARE Hospitals Group, explained that women developing breast cancer at a much younger age compared to others can be attributed to their genes along with outside factors, such as a sedentary lifestyle, mainly a lack of exercise and poor diet (obesity). He further explained that around 10–20% of breast cancer cases in the world are hereditary because of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes present in people.

Highlighting the fact that breast cancer can be prevented, he noted that the primary measure is to remove the risk factors by improving the lifestyle, which includes enough physical exercise, avoiding smoking and drinking, and a balanced diet.

The secondary measure is going for screening and tests. He advised getting a screening done once a year after the age of 40 since if the cancer is caught at an early stage (stage I), the chances of survival and cure are improved by almost 95%.

(Source: https://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsDisplay?newsID=1011256 )