Breast cancer cure rate 70 pc if detected early

PUDUCHERRY: The cure rate of breast cancer could go up to 70 per cent if detected in the  early stages, said Dr KS Reddy, Dean, JIPMER, and Director of Regional Research Centre (RCC), JIPMER.He was speaking at a breast cancer awareness programme at the RCC on Saturday. Reddy said that the prevalence of breast cancer had increased three to four times in the recent past and was still rising. From seven to eight cases in the past, now it has increased to 27 to 30 cases.  Though cure was a reality in cases of early diagnosis, it was almost untenable, when patients came at a  late stage. Saying that women were shying away from self- examination and tests, he stressed on their need and importance. “If a woman had any suspicion of breast cancer she should approach a cancer speciality centre and should not restrict herself to clinics or primary health centres or hospitals which did not have a  facility for diagnosis and treatment,” he said Dr Reddy said that without the cooperation of patients, early detection was not achievable. If the lump in the breast was bigger than two to four centimetres, then the prognosis level fell to 50 per cent. Director of JIPMER Dr KSVK Subba Rao who released an awareness booklet on breast cancer in Tamil and English during the meeting.