46 per cent female cancer patients in India are below 50: Doctors

New Delhi: Forty-six per cent of women
suffering from cancer are under 50, a worrying trend that’s likely to continue
in the coming years due to lifestyle changes, said doctors.

Late marriages, multiple sex partners
and late pregnancy have contributed to incidence of cancer among women, of
which breast and cervical cancers are the commonest forms, they said.

“Two per cent of the Indian women
suffering from cancer are in 20 to 30 years age group, 16 per cent are in 30 to
40, 28 per cent are in 40 to 50 age group. So, almost 46 per cent women
patients are below 50,” said Sameer Kaul, Senior Consultant of Surgical
Oncology at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Delhi.

He said an increasing number of
patients are in the 25 to 40 years of age, which is an “alarming”
situation.

Since discussing private body parts is
a taboo in many communities in India, women prefer to remain silent until their
condition becomes unbearable or incurable, Kaul said.

“Discomfort with the process of
diagnosis and treatment is an additional concern. Research conducted in other
countries suggests women perceive mammography exams as uncomfortable, and these
feelings are shared by women in India too,” he said.

The disease, especially breast and
ovarian cancer, also carries a stigma for women, he said.

According to the National Institute of
Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR), one woman dies of cervical cancer every
eight minutes in India.

For every two women newly diagnosed
with breast cancer, one woman dies of it in India. The data also shows that as
many as 2,500 persons die every day due to tobacco-related diseases in India.

Kaul said more young women seem to
suffer from breast cancer these days than older women.

“Young breast cancer patients
have special concerns. Their cancers tend to be more advanced, more aggressive,
more likely to be caused by an inherited defective gene, and may respond
differently to treatment than do breast tumours in older women.”

“Issues of infertility, body
image, and the disease’s impact on family life, relationships, career and
finances also are different for younger women,” said Kaul.

Agreed Priyanku Sachdev, oncologist at
Safdarjung hospital here, who said tobacco abuse, hereditary factor and bad
lifestyle choices are among the emerging factors contributing to cancer among
women.

“While tobacco is the leading
contributor to cancer, about 40 per cent cases can be ascribed causes such as
unhealthy eating and bad sexual habits,” Sachdev said.

“By the time people consult
doctors, their cancer is in the advanced stage. A wound that does not heal,
cough, stubborn fever, lumps, change in any mole and bleeding, etc., are
generally the first warning signs that the body gives. So, one should be prompt
in seeing the doctor,” said Sachdev.

IANS