The primary element contributing to the rising incidence of breast cancer in young women is improved awareness. As a result, more young women are getting screened and having their breast cancers diagnosed at an earlier stage. There are several reasons for this increase in breast cancer incidence in young women.
Breast cancer was always thought to be a disease confined to the elderly, affecting only women over the age of 50 or 60. However, because of increased screening rates for women over 40, the disease is now being detected significantly more frequently. He added, “The second is the current change in lifestyle, a sedentary lifestyle, more Westernised diet, more saturated fat, less fiber, less activity and a lot of stress. Apart from these, the incidence rate is increasing, especially the triple-negative breast cancer OR HER2-positive breast cancer, which is not common in older women. We are also finding that 5 to 10% of the incidence rate is attributed to family or genetic factors.
Dr. Vinu Sarathy noted, “Previously, the number for screening was one or two women out of ten,” emphasising that breast cancer screening has not taken off in a significant way in our community. At least four out of every five women that we encounter today want to know about risk factors or want to know about family members who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Without a doubt, the numbers ought to rise, and more women ought to volunteer for screening. Regarding risk factors, it has been shown that those who voluntarily undergo screening are those who are information seekers, having experienced a family member’s breast cancer diagnosis.
He explained, “Unlike other cancers like oral cancer where people come voluntarily for screening irrespective of someone being diagnosed with cancer, the same is not the case with breast cancer. Women are usually coming forward for screening only after someone they know is diagnosed with breast cancer. They do contribute and play a part but only to a certain extent. There are two risk factors that are absolutely known to cause breast cancer. One is genetic factors, previous exposure to radiation, etc. Then there are oral contraceptive pill use and environmental factors that are known to increase the incidence of breast cancer by around 1.3 to 2 times more, than the population where these risk factors are not there.”
Even though it might not be a very powerful factor, you can be certain that it will increase your risk of breast cancer by 40 or 60 times. Regardless, it is known that individuals who are exposed to these risk factors have a 1.5 or 2 times higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who do not. Therefore, we do support leading a healthy lifestyle free from stress, eating a balanced diet, exercising, doing aerobics, etc. In order to better understand the patterns in cancer, many clinical medication trials currently concentrate on the Asian and Indian populations. The majority of current breast cancer trials involve participants from India.
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