Regular self-breast exams can help women detect breast cancer at an early stage: Experts

Most lumps and abnormalities are not cancer, but one should still report changes to your doctor, said Prof Anand Mishra, faculty endocrine surgery, King George's Medical University (KGMU) during the fourth-anniversary celebration of the Lucknow Breast Cancer Support (LBCS) on Saturday. The programme was organised by KGMU’s endocrine department and LBCS group, in which Prof Mishra said that 60 per cent of breast cancer patients come to us in advanced stages.

Updated On Apr 30, 2023 at 01:11 PM IST

Lucknow: Regular self-breast examination can help women to maintain breast health and detect cancer early at a stage when it is uncomplicated to treat and more likely to be cured.

Most lumps and abnormalities are not cancer, but one should still report changes to your doctor, said Prof Anand Mishra, faculty endocrine surgery, King George's Medical University (KGMU) during the fourth-anniversary celebration of the Lucknow Breast Cancer Support (LBCS) on Saturday.

The programme was organised by KGMU’s endocrine department and LBCS group, in which Prof Mishra said that 60 per cent of breast cancer patients come to us in advanced stages. In most of these cases, only care can be given to the patients so that their quality of life can be improved and life span can be extended. However, if a patient comes in early, she can be cured fully.

Prof Mishra, who is also the founder of group LBCS, said that therefore awareness on breast cancer is needed and cancer patients should be given support for mental issues. “I advise all women to self-examine breasts monthly and visit a doctor if they are feeling a lump or any abnormality so that cancer can be diagnosed at an early stage,” he added.

Earlier, in this program, the last four years' journey was displayed through a documentary film to increase the morale of breast cancer patients as well as to remove the misconceptions related to breast cancer.

About 150 survivors and their family members participated in the program, while ‘I am Proud Breast Cancer Conqueror's portfolio was given to the survivors who voluntarily created awareness about breast cancer disease. They also pledged to provide maximum cooperation in increasing information and social awareness about cancer.

Social worker Namrata Pathak was chief guest, while actress Padmini Kolhapure, Dr Pragya Tripathi MLC, Mani Vardhan, the oldest survivor among those treated at endocrine surgery department were special guests at the event.