One-third women in rural India unaware of breast cancer: Study
While early detection is the key for successful breast cancer treatment, one in three women in rural India had not even heard of the deadly disease, finds a research led by a doctoral student of Indian-origin.
Breast cancer is the most common of the types of cancer occurring in India, followed by lung cancer and cervical cancer. The findings showed that as many as 90 percent of the women in rural areas are unaware of the possibility of self-examination of their own breasts.
A delay of more than three months in seeking care was observed in almost half of the women. The delay in diagnosis and treatment was for more than twelve weeks in 23 percent of the patients.
"Early detection may be crucial for successful breast cancer treatment. Therefore, it's important to influence women's awareness of the symptoms and their attitudes towards treatment," said doctoral student Nitin Gangane in a statement released by the Umea University in Sweden.
"It's urgent to have a national breast cancer programme in India, while at the local level, we need to raise awareness among women about breast cancer," Gangane said. The team performed two studies including over 1,000 women in the mainly rural-dominated district of Wardha in the state of Maharashtra in central India.
Hardly any women in the studies self-examined their breasts. Every third woman had not even heard of breast cancer. On the other hand, most of the women showed a great deal of interest in learning more.
"Illiteracy, ignorance, poverty, and superstition regretfully lead to many women delaying their contact with the health care system too long," Gangane said.
24.03.2018
Time is the coin of your life. You spend it. Do not allow others to spend it for you
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