Breast Cancer Patients Highest In Chandigarh

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Chandigarh, Oct 23 (UNI) The incidence of breast cancer among women in Chandigarh is the highest in the country.

Disclosing this at a press conference here today, Prof J D Wig, Head of Department of General Surgery, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences and Research, said the incidence of breast cancer is rising in India and it is the most common cancer among women in the metros.

Early detection of breast cancer can be less expensive with less time consuming treatment and higher chances of retaining the breast and yet getting cured, he said. Mammography is the only proven method of early breast cancer detection.

He said there are many risk factors, including aging, for developing breast cancer. Having a risk factor does not mean that a person will develop breast cancer, only the risk is higher as compared to a normal person.

Prof Wig said breast cancer is treated by many methods__ surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormone therapy, biological therapy.

Most patients require more than one method of treatment. The kind of treatment required by an individual will vary with the extent of the tumor and other factors.

When the tumor is more advanced, a combination of all methods of treatment is required for optimizing the survival of the patient.

Newer methods of surgical treatment, newer drugs and better insight in the tumor biology are being developed which offer hope for the patient.

October being the internationally designated breast cancer Awareness month, The Department of Surgery, PGIMER, is organizing a breast cancer Awareness programme from October 26 to 29. During this period, different events will be organized to create awarenes among the people. An informative material will be put on display for the general public in the surgical Out Patient Department (OPD).

A public health lecture on breast cancer will be delivered by Dr S S Legha, Houston, USA on October 26. A symposium on ''What is new in breast cancer'' will be delivered by eminent physicians/surgeons from UK, US and India on October 29.