Helping to deal with the initial shock and trauma, along with associated emotional reactions
At least 100 women out of 150 women with breast cancer are delaying their appointments with an oncologist due to the fear of undergoing Chemotherapy and Covid-19, revealed an exponential data presented by doctors from Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi.
The experts noted that while technologies have progressed far and wide, fear of undergoing a surgery or a physically straining treatment modality, still disrupts the early diagnosis of cancer. The Covid-19 pandemic has further added to this already existing burden of undiagnosed cancer patients, as fear of contracting the infection is preventing people from visiting hospitals to consult doctors for non-communicable diseases like cancer.
Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women, accounting for almost 26.3 per cent of the entire cancer burden amongst them. Often people think being diagnosed with cancer as synonymous with death, and this fear stops at least 70-80 per cent of women to consult an oncologist on experiencing any kind of known symptoms, the doctors from Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals said in a release.
"We live in a country where women between the ages of 35-50 years contribute for at least 50 per cent of the total burden of the active breast cancer (our own data of more than 800+ cases from 2007 till 2017,) but still let our fear and hesitancy of undergoing chemotherapy or a surgery of losing a breast come in our ways to consult for a cancer diagnosis," said Dr Ramesh Sarin, Senior Consultant, Surgical Oncology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi.
Various medical studies have proven that an early diagnosis of cancer can save up to 90 per cent of lives. So, one should not let one of the treatment modalities decide a decision to consult an expert.
Moreover, latest studies are showing that almost 50-60 per cent of a special sub type of breast cancer (HR pos and HER2 Neg) patients can be spared the chemotherapy, if they present early, he added.
Based on the hospital's data of OPD visits, the expert summed up that 53 per cent of cases of breast cancer could have reported early if the patients were aware that it is treatable and curable if detected in early stage 1 or 2 disease without worrying about the course of treatment.
"Today in breast cancer the medical drugs discovery has advanced so much that women even in their advanced stages of cancer can be managed with medication. As a reason, any kind of hesitancy, be it fear of undergoing chemotherapy, surgery or being diagnosed with an advanced stage of cancer should be done away with. Cancer, if not curable, can now be managed with various technologically progressed medications and therapies. As a responsible decision maker for our health, we should not let any thought come between our diagnoses," Dr Sarin asserted.
There are various advantages associated with early cancer detection, such as better treatment outcomes, non-invasive treatment modalities or treating the diagnosed condition without a Chemotherapy.
"One should be aware towards its own health and be a responsible decision maker," the hospital said.
If principally, we operate in a pattern that an early detection of cancer can save many lives, we should be saving millions of people we lose to cancer it concluded.
