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JAMSHORO: Breast Cancer is the most frequent
malignancy among women in Pakistan and constitutes 25 percent
of all cancers registered among them.
Talking to newsmen here on Monday Consultant and Assistant
Professor of Gynecologist of Liaquat University of Medical
College, Dr.Chandra Madhu Das, said that around the world
breast cancer statistics shows that after lung cancer breast
cancer was the second most death-causing factor in people
who may develop cancer.
She said that abnormal development of cells leads to the growth
of tumor, when tumor is malignant in nature they are termed
as cancer.
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer diagnosed
in women now a days, said Dr. Chandra Madhu Das. She said
chances for breast cancer increases with the age, it does
not only relate to women, figures show that out of every 100
women there is one male who is diagnosed with the disease
Dr.Madhu Das said breast cancer may occur at any age but its
risk increases with growing age as one in every 280 women
of 30 years hold the risk to develop breast cancer as compared
to one in 70 in 40 years age group and one in 40 among women
of 50 years age. A 60-year-old woman has a one in 30 chance
of developing breast cancer in the next 10 years, she added.
She said that a woman with a personal history of cancer in
one breast has a three- to four fold greater risk of developing
cancer in the other breast or in another part of the same
breast. This refers to the risk for developing a new tumor
and not a recurrence (return) of the first cancer, said the
doctor.
Dr.Madhu Das said that the use of alcohol is also an established
risk factor for the development of breast cancer.
She said the side effects of the chemotherapy are well known
and side effects depend on types drugs that are used. Side
effects of some these were said to include loss of hair, nausea
and vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, and low blood cell
counts.
The doctor said that low blood counts may cause patients to
be more susceptible to infections, to feel sick and tired,
or to bleed more easily than usual. Medications are available
to treat or prevent many of these side effects, she added.
Dr.Chandra Madhu Das said that the breast cancer does not
mean a specific category of disease rather it is the different
types of cancer generally found in breast and are collectively
termed as breast cancer though the most common understanding
suggests that, abnormal growth of cells in the breast causes
breast cancer.
About the causes of breast cancer Dr. Chandra Madhu Das said
that exact cause of breast cancer is unknown and there are
no fixed causes for breast cancer.
She said that the chances of breast cancer depends on age,
as the person gets older the chances of it are more and the
family history of close relative like mother, sister and daughter
who has been diagnosed with breast cancer increases the risk
factor. About the diagnosis of Breast Cancer Dr.Chandra Madhu
Das said that with surge in number of breast cancer there
has also been increase in the diagnostic tools that can help
in identifying the onset of the disease.
She further said that the first diagnostic tool to identify
breast cancer is Mammogram and it is an X-ray of the breast
that can show the presence of abnormal growth or lumps in
the breast area.—Agency |
