In India, breast cancer warriors are raising awareness, fighting stigma, and creating innovative solutions. Read their stories and learn how you can help.
Breast cancer. These words alone can shake anyone to their core. However, when it comes to India, the number of early-stage detections is quite low and the quality of healthcare is a huge issue. It’s a fight against an enemy that knows no boundaries of wealth, status, or age. Today, we look at the stories of those women who are ready to take on this fight and learn, and the community efforts made to raise awareness about breast cancer in India.
Breast cancer is the most prevalent among women in India with highly disturbing statistics: every four minutes, a woman gets a diagnosis, and every eight minutes, a life is lost because of this disease. An Indian Council of Medical Research study reveals 5-year survival for breast cancer patients as 66.4% in India. The rate of this country is slightly lower than that of developed countries like the USA. However, the report highlights the significance of an early diagnosis of cancer and access to treatment.
The estimation of the National Cancer Registry Program Report predicts that breast cancer cases in India will touch an alarming figure of more than 2,30,000 by 2025. This shows us the importance of more intense awareness and high-quality screening everywhere in the country. More than half of the Indian women who are diagnosed with breast cancer are already at advanced stages (stage 3 or 4), which means that the treatment is complicated and survival chances are reduced. These reports on breast cancer indicate how big of an issue is this for women in India.
Niyati Tamaskar had to deal with stage IIIC breast cancer while trying to keep her engineering career and taking care of her two young kids. It was difficult enough to be diagnosed with cancer, but the cultural stigma within the Indian community made it, even more difficult for her. Niyati chose to confront this stigma and become an advocate by writing a memoir, “Unafraid: A Survivor’s Quest for Human Connection" to speak on the experience and connect with other survivors. Similarly, Farida Rizwan, had a third-stage breast cancer diagnosis, while her family already had other unresolved health issues. This included chemotherapy, mastectomy, and the emotional distress caused by her sister’s death from the same cancer. However, in the end, she overcame it, giving her pain a purpose as she started raising awareness about breast cancer.
Even people having the privilege of getting access to the most modern of medical care, and lifestyle that one could dream of, illness can sneak up when least expected. Seema Patil, yet another inspiring woman, had met her challenge with the same courage. Being the wife of one of the co-founders of 'Zerodha', Seema utilized her platform to tell her story and everyone should go to a doctor and schedule regular medical checkups.
In the year 2018, Tahira Kashyap, a writer and wife to actor, Ayushmann Khurrana found out she had Stage 0 breast cancer.
She has been doing a great job in the process as she is open about her fight, and in turn, she uses her influence to bring out early detection and self-love. Tahira's sharing of all her experiences, including the emotional and bodily factors she underwent, has brought issues about the disease to light and caused many women to take their health as a priority. Sonali Bendre, one of the most loved actresses, accepted her destiny of metastatic breast cancer with grace in front of the whole world. Her honest sharing of her therapy and rehabilitation journey is a source of inspiration. Sonali's experience is exactly the reason why we should not give up hope and know that as long as we have the love and support of our loved ones, we can fight any difficult situation in life.
The main barrier is the fact that most patients are diagnosed when the cancer has already spread beyond the limits. Cultural taboos, social stigma, and the fear of being judged by others on the breast cancer topic worsen the situation by delaying women from seeking immediate medical attention. After the diagnosis, the financial burden of treatment becomes troublesome. The operation, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy cost underprivileged families a lot and force them to choose between healthcare and basic needs.
To add more, the inequality of the existing health infrastructure, the situation blows out even more. Women in rural areas do not have any possibility to get proper screening, diagnosis, and treatment. Another layer of difficulty that is being added to all this is the stigma that breast cancer brings with it. Enhancing healthcare infrastructure in rural areas and giving financial support to underprivileged patients is a necessary step. Among other interventions, the last step would be to rid the breast cancer stigma by supporting open conversations and celebrating the stories of survivors. This would enable women to take control of their health and seek intervention whenever they need to.
With each of these challenges, women from India are becoming breast cancer awareness ambassadors. The founder of Niramai, Dr. Geetha Manjunath worked on a dedicated solution to the problem of breast cancer detection to improve women's health in India.
Unlike conventional mammograms, which can be unpleasant, expensive, and even dangerous, Niramai's thermal imaging test by Dr. Manjunath, is painless, economical, and completely UV-free. The test portability also made it possible to deploy the test in mobile clinics, which enabled women who live in remote areas to be reached and that would be a challenge to get to usual screening facilities. Their partnerships with hospitals and clinics help them to make the screening process more available and cheap. They use early detection as a powerful tool to inspire women to take their health into their own hands by seeking appropriate care on time, which can be a lifesaver.
Maina Foundation was born out of love and loss. In 2006, Maina Pandit’s life was cut short by breast cancer, and her family, in response, offered all the compassion and hope they had in the world to help others. Shankar B Pandit, an award-winning poet and scholar, and her daughter Alka Shrikhande, a biochemist, decided to establish this foundation inspired by Maina’s memory and to bring about a change. The Maina Foundation organizes awareness about breast cancer all over India. They help women by stressing self-examination, detecting symptoms at early stages, and attending a doctor at the right time. Breast cancer patients often encounter financial difficulty caused by the costs of diagnostic tests, surgeries, chemotherapy, and post-operative treatments so they help these patients with financial aid as well. They guarantee that a woman never misses out on quality healthcare services due to poverty.
There are countless heroes in every corner of India. These women usually have limited funds and are without support to deal with their diagnosis. Yet, hope remains. Medical technology progress will continue to help in improving treatment methods. On this Women's Day, let's admire these warriors, not only by increasing awareness around breast cancer but also by contributing to its research and education in India.