Healthy lifestyle, awareness can reduce risk of breast cancer, say experts

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, March 11

Dr SM Bose, former senior professor and head of surgery, PGI, Chandigarh, organised a breast cancer awareness seminar today at the Bhargava Auditorium of the PGI.

He said: “An estimated 1 lakh new patients were added annually to the existing number of breast cancer patients in our country.”

In India, the incidence of breast cancer was much lower than in western countries but the comparative death rate was much higher as the majority of patients visit their doctors in late stages when the outcome was poor. Cancer in majority of the cases was not preventable but could be minimised to some extent by adopting healthy lifestyles and thorough awareness that would make people more cautious and conscious about their habits and their effects on the health of people. The key to fight cancer is to get the diagnosis and start proper treatment, said experts.

Prof IC Pathak, former director of the PGI, was the chief guest, Padma Shri Shovana Narayan was the guest of honour and Prof Digambar Behera presided over the function.

The programme included three public health education lectures on cancer awareness by three eminent cancer specialists – Prof SC Sharma, Prof Firuza Patel and Prof SM Bose.

Later during the seminar, a book, ‘Winners of Breast Cancer’, — edited By Prof SM Bose and Apurva Bose Dutta — was launched.

The book has 16 stories of courage, grit and hope, written by long term survivors of breast cancer. It also has educative chapters about breast cancer.

The 16 survivors who had contributed chapters to this book and 15 other long-term survivors of breast cancer were felicitated and honoured on the occasion. The function saw a good number of medical specialists, nurses and the public.

Book launched

A book, ‘Winners of Breast Cancer’, — edited By Prof SM Bose and Apurva Bose Dutta — was launched during the seminar. The book has 16 stories of courage, grit and hope, written by long term survivors of breast cancer. It also has educative chapters about breast cancer. The 16 survivors who had contributed chapters to this book and 15 other long-term survivors of breast cancer were felicitated and honoured.