An astounding 80,000 new cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in India every year. Statistics provided claim that 28 out of every 100,000 women in Delhi suffer from breast cancer while in Mumbai, the figure is 28.6. The figure is less in Chennai. According to available trends, the incidence of breast cancer has risen by over 10 per cent in the last decade. But what is astonishing is while the incidence of new cases is on the rise, facilities for treatment have remained more or less stagnant.

It is claimed that facilities are available for treating hardly one third of these cases. There are only two specialized hospitals, both of them in the private sector, to treat cancer patients. While premier research institution, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) , New Delhi, has a specialized wing, the other private and government hospitals have only a department to handle cancer patients.

According to Dr. Alok Mukhopadhyay, Director, Voluntary Health Association of India (VHAI), the irony is that India is in a state of transition, the infectious diseases have not been completely taken care of and lifestyle diseases have already started hitting in large numbers and as a result not much priority is given to diseases like cancer. He further claims that while the conditions in the metros are the best in the country even though deficiencies exist, it is the patients in the smaller districts, which do not have the basic facilities.

Early detection of breast cancer can in fact raise the survival rate by almost 97 per cent. Breast cancer is identified more with the modern women, with delayed marriage and child bearing and more of junk foods.

A National Cancer Control Programme is in existence but it does not have the requisite data on cancer incidence in the country. Whatever information or statistics it has been able to garner are from the government hospitals. There are 19 regional centres all over the country for treatment of cancer but do not suffice in the wake of growing incidence of new cases of cancer.

Oncologists from different centres opine that the best way to ensure early detection of cancer is by spreading the awareness. They prescribe the mass media as the best possible means to spread the awareness. They further opine that by using the mass media the health authorities have been able to spread the message of early detection of cancer due to which mortality rate has dropped.

However, there is an urgent need for identifying risk groups, those families which already have a history of breast cancer, screening them and spreading awareness about early diagnosis and treatment. Change in dietary habits, including more fruits and vegetables in diet which have antioxidants can help lower the risk of cancer, according to Dr. Mukhopadhyay who further adds that if the government can buy cancer drugs in bulk and distributes them through its own network, the cost of treatment can be brought down drastically.