India Is Facing A Breast Cancer Epidemic: Here’s What You Can Do

Every breast cancer awareness month, your timeline is flooded with articles telling you how you can detect breast cancer at an earlier stage, how taking time out for your health is necessary. But nobody tells you why and you soon forget. The term breast cancer becomes non-existent in your dictionary until next October. So I’m not going to tell you how you can detect breast cancer, instead I’m going to give you a list of reasons you should force yourself to take those articles seriously and start your detection process immediately!

Increasing Breast Cancer In Younger Age Groups

1 Breast Cancer

Statistically, the number of cases in younger age groups are on the rise. Which means you don’t have to be 40 to take your breast cancer check up seriously.

Aggressive Cancer In The Young

The younger you are, the more aggressive your cancer will be in most cases. So the sooner you get diagnosed, the faster you can work towards preventing damage.

Also Read: Breast Cancer Awareness Quotes

Rising Number Of Cases

Breast cancer accounts for 25% to 32% of all female cancers in all cities. Have a look at the Population Based Cancer Registry and you’ll see how prevalent breast cancer is in your specific city.

Decreased Survival Rate

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Out of 100 women with breast cancer in the USA, 89 women are likely to survive for at least 5 years. In India however, the percentage is as low as 60%, because of lack of awareness and late detection.

Also Read: Breast Cancer Signs & Symptoms

Lack Of Awareness

Most women are detected at stage 3 and 4, when the survival rate is reduced as compared to their western counterparts. So, the sooner you get detected, the higher your chances of lasting survival are.

For more motivation, here are a few stories about women who won their breast cancer battle: Thanks for the Mammaries by Sarah Demmon (Rs 7,100), B.O.O.B.S. by Ann Kempner Fisher (Rs 1,242), Uplift by Barbara Delinsky (Rs 676), Body & Soul by Jean Karotkin (Rs 3,707) and Tribe of Warrior Women by Melissa Springer (Rs 1,243).