Embracing Pinktober to Fight against the Breast Cancer
Amidst the hustle-bustle of corporate contemporary life, we women always forget to take care of our health. In the deadly tug of war between work-life and family-life we often neglect and keep aside the well-being factors of health. When a woman becomes a mother, she tends to let go of any symptoms regarding ailing health and always choose the best and work towards providing the best for her children and this negligence might transform her happening happy life to hell.
Breast cancer is such a burning example that might ruin your balanced life and unleash all the happiness in a very short period of time. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women worldwide. The earlier it is caught in its tracks, the better with any kind of cancer.
What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is a disease that affects millions of women and some men across the world. It is very important to stay aware of all the possible symptoms of this disease and act promptly so over the time, they might make their way to other parts of the body. It is the development of cancerous cells in the breast. The cells grow and eventually start invading the healthy cells in the breast and the cells in the breast grow out of control. It starts in the ducts or lobule of breast which spread outside the breast through blood vessels and lymph vessels.
There are two major types of breast cancer. One is Invasive ductal carcinoma, and another one is Invasive lobular carcinoma. In the first one, the cancer cells begin in the ducts and then grow outside the ducts into other parts of the breast tissue. Invasive cancer cells can also spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body. In case of Invasive lobular carcinoma cancer cells begin in the lobules and then spread from the lobules to the breast tissues that are close by and later invasive cells spread to other parts of the body.
Facts to know about breast cancer
• Breast Cancer affects 1 in every 8 women and 1 in 1000 men.
• Women who get their regular breast cancer screening have a 47 percent lower risk of dying.
• Every year in the US, approximately 264,000 women get breast cancer, and 42,000 women die out of them.
• One woman dies of Breast cancer, in India, every 8 minutes.
• One woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, in India, every 4 minutes.
• Breast Cancer is the most common cancer among women except for skin cancers.
• There are over 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the US.
• On an average, in every 2 minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer.
• Breast cancer rates are 40 percent higher among African American women.
• Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among the Latin women in the US.
• Breast cancer has ranked number one cancer among Indian females with age adjusted rate as high as 25.8 per 100,000 women and mortality 12.7 per 100,000 women.
• The age adjusted incidence rate of carcinoma of the breast was found as high as 41 per 100,000 women for Delhi, followed by Chennai (37.9), Bangalore (34.4) and Thiruvananthapuram District (33.7).
Why breast cancer awareness is important?
As it is the second leading cause of death among women worldwide, it is very important to know the basic signs and symptoms, and if you find any abnormalities, immediately get checked by a doctor. Older women are more prone to this disease, but that does not mean younger women are fully out of danger. All the women with a family history of having this disease are advised to start screening at 40 yearly, and if they had a family member pass away at the age of 45, for example, they should start testing 10 years earlier, so that it would be 35. So, educating yourself and your family, friends and relatives about the symptoms and consequences of this deadly disease is the best way to be safe from this danger.
To trigger the idea of awareness, October is being observed as breast cancer awareness month or it is known as ‘Pinktober’ as pink ribbon is used as the logo of the awareness campaign globally. Kevat is the first initiative in India to create a trained task force to facilitate the cancer patient’s journey from entry to the hospital to follow-up. A Mumbai based NGO ‘The Pink Initiative’ is working towards generating awareness about breast cancer. Maina Foundation is an NGO, which is dedicated to providing critical funding for increasing breast cancer awareness and promoting early detection to women in need of financial assistance.
Technologies Working in this Field
Technology is driving the whole world, and it is speeding up the profit in every sectors of economy. In medical science there are wide variety of machines and diagnostic methods which are doing great in proving their effectiveness in eradicating the deadly stubborn disease from root. In case of breast cancer detection Artificial Intelligence tool is effectively detecting the presence and this can lead to a proper treatment to affected patients as early as possible that eventually helps in reducing women mortality rate.
Breast self-examination (BSE) and clinical breast examination (CBE) are used to screen for breast cancer. CBE has a sensitivity of 57.14 percent and a specificity of 97.11 percent. Though it does not let you determine malignancy with assurance, it is useful for detecting suspicious breast lesions. Mammography, or screen-film mammography (SFM), is the most common form of breast imaging, which is an X-ray examination of the breast under compression. It has a true-positive rate of 83 percent to 95 percent and a false-positive rate of 0.9 percent to 6.5 percent. Full-field digital mammography is the digital version of this process. Digital mammographic images can be transmitted electronically in a process known as tele-mammography. CAD is pattern recognition software that identifies suspicious abnormalities on images, marking them for the radiologist. Ultrasonography is used to image palpable masses in the breast or as a follow-up test for abnormal results on a mammogram. Doppler ultrasound is used for tracking intralesional blood flow. In MRI or Magnetic resonance imaging, a powerful magnet linked to a computer creates detailed images of the breast without the use of radiation.
In recent times, cancer is spreading like the fire in all the countries and India is out of the list. Considering all the pernicious effects of breast cancer, many startups have come up with new techniques and innovative ideas so that the number of affected can come down. Bengaluru-based
NIRAMAI is a deep-tech startup that offers a radiation-free, non-invasive, non-touch, breast cancer screening solutions for hospitals and diagnostic centres. This startup has so far raised $7 million from piVentures, Dream Incubator, Axilor Ventures, Ankur Capital, BeeNext and others.
Tzar Labs, a molecular diagnostic company, along with Mumbai-based Epigeneres Biotechnology, has made an early detection and prognosis/diagnosis of cancer.
Sascan is Kerala based startup that is developing affordable optical imaging technologies that detect pre-cancerous changes in squamous epithelial tissues of the oral cavity and cervix. This intra-oral screening camera can be inserted into the mouth of a patient to locate early lesions in real-time, using an algorithm.
Cancer Moonshot is using AI-based software that produces innovative AI-based personalized treatment decisions software with evidence. The Bangalore-based startup can ingest cancer diagnostic conditions and produce personalized cancer treatment reports for treating a cancer patient for better outcomes for various cancer types.
Karkinos Healthcare, a Kerala based startup on a mission to create cancer centers without walls with a primary aim of addressing the accessibility or affordability gaps in cancer care. They are led by a blend of globally acclaimed medical professionals and technologists using cutting edge technologies like genomics, synthetic biology, sensors, and AI to analyze data and leading to the development of affordable cancer interventions.
Conclusion: Medical science and health technologies have become so advanced and they are bestowing blessings by diagnosing breast cancer at their early stage where it can be easily treated and save the precious life and transform it to a peaceful from stressful. Data shows that 99 percent of people with early-stage breast cancer were alive five years after diagnosis. In many cases they are considered to be cured, but in some cases it might come back as metastatic breast cancer. So, awareness plays the pivotal role in eradicating the ill-effects of this life-threatening disease.
Through GBCI (The Global Breast Cancer Initiative), WHO provides guidance to governments across the world on ways to strengthen systems for detecting, diagnosing and treating breast cancer in order to further their capacities and manage other types of cancer. The World Health Organization, on March 9, 2021, introduced a Global Breast Cancer Initiative to reduce global breast mortality by 2.5 percent by 2040. We should arrange and support breast cancer awareness campaigns more to give the women of India a healthy and long life to live. We also need to stand up and deliver on the healthcare front, by increasing the total healthcare budget of the country.
Breast cancer is such a burning example that might ruin your balanced life and unleash all the happiness in a very short period of time. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of death among women worldwide. The earlier it is caught in its tracks, the better with any kind of cancer.
What is breast cancer?
Breast cancer is a disease that affects millions of women and some men across the world. It is very important to stay aware of all the possible symptoms of this disease and act promptly so over the time, they might make their way to other parts of the body. It is the development of cancerous cells in the breast. The cells grow and eventually start invading the healthy cells in the breast and the cells in the breast grow out of control. It starts in the ducts or lobule of breast which spread outside the breast through blood vessels and lymph vessels.
There are two major types of breast cancer. One is Invasive ductal carcinoma, and another one is Invasive lobular carcinoma. In the first one, the cancer cells begin in the ducts and then grow outside the ducts into other parts of the breast tissue. Invasive cancer cells can also spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body. In case of Invasive lobular carcinoma cancer cells begin in the lobules and then spread from the lobules to the breast tissues that are close by and later invasive cells spread to other parts of the body.
Facts to know about breast cancer
• Breast Cancer affects 1 in every 8 women and 1 in 1000 men.
• Women who get their regular breast cancer screening have a 47 percent lower risk of dying.
• Every year in the US, approximately 264,000 women get breast cancer, and 42,000 women die out of them.
• One woman dies of Breast cancer, in India, every 8 minutes.
• One woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, in India, every 4 minutes.
• Breast Cancer is the most common cancer among women except for skin cancers.
• There are over 3.8 million breast cancer survivors in the US.
• On an average, in every 2 minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer.
• Breast cancer rates are 40 percent higher among African American women.
• Breast cancer is the leading cause of death among the Latin women in the US.
• Breast cancer has ranked number one cancer among Indian females with age adjusted rate as high as 25.8 per 100,000 women and mortality 12.7 per 100,000 women.
• The age adjusted incidence rate of carcinoma of the breast was found as high as 41 per 100,000 women for Delhi, followed by Chennai (37.9), Bangalore (34.4) and Thiruvananthapuram District (33.7).
Why breast cancer awareness is important?
As it is the second leading cause of death among women worldwide, it is very important to know the basic signs and symptoms, and if you find any abnormalities, immediately get checked by a doctor. Older women are more prone to this disease, but that does not mean younger women are fully out of danger. All the women with a family history of having this disease are advised to start screening at 40 yearly, and if they had a family member pass away at the age of 45, for example, they should start testing 10 years earlier, so that it would be 35. So, educating yourself and your family, friends and relatives about the symptoms and consequences of this deadly disease is the best way to be safe from this danger.
To trigger the idea of awareness, October is being observed as breast cancer awareness month or it is known as ‘Pinktober’ as pink ribbon is used as the logo of the awareness campaign globally. Kevat is the first initiative in India to create a trained task force to facilitate the cancer patient’s journey from entry to the hospital to follow-up. A Mumbai based NGO ‘The Pink Initiative’ is working towards generating awareness about breast cancer. Maina Foundation is an NGO, which is dedicated to providing critical funding for increasing breast cancer awareness and promoting early detection to women in need of financial assistance.
Technologies Working in this Field
Technology is driving the whole world, and it is speeding up the profit in every sectors of economy. In medical science there are wide variety of machines and diagnostic methods which are doing great in proving their effectiveness in eradicating the deadly stubborn disease from root. In case of breast cancer detection Artificial Intelligence tool is effectively detecting the presence and this can lead to a proper treatment to affected patients as early as possible that eventually helps in reducing women mortality rate.
Breast self-examination (BSE) and clinical breast examination (CBE) are used to screen for breast cancer. CBE has a sensitivity of 57.14 percent and a specificity of 97.11 percent. Though it does not let you determine malignancy with assurance, it is useful for detecting suspicious breast lesions. Mammography, or screen-film mammography (SFM), is the most common form of breast imaging, which is an X-ray examination of the breast under compression. It has a true-positive rate of 83 percent to 95 percent and a false-positive rate of 0.9 percent to 6.5 percent. Full-field digital mammography is the digital version of this process. Digital mammographic images can be transmitted electronically in a process known as tele-mammography. CAD is pattern recognition software that identifies suspicious abnormalities on images, marking them for the radiologist. Ultrasonography is used to image palpable masses in the breast or as a follow-up test for abnormal results on a mammogram. Doppler ultrasound is used for tracking intralesional blood flow. In MRI or Magnetic resonance imaging, a powerful magnet linked to a computer creates detailed images of the breast without the use of radiation.
Startups Working for Perishing the Perilous Effects of CANCERCancer cannot cripple love or shatter hope, but make you strong enough to take your way out of it like a fighter
In recent times, cancer is spreading like the fire in all the countries and India is out of the list. Considering all the pernicious effects of breast cancer, many startups have come up with new techniques and innovative ideas so that the number of affected can come down. Bengaluru-based
NIRAMAI is a deep-tech startup that offers a radiation-free, non-invasive, non-touch, breast cancer screening solutions for hospitals and diagnostic centres. This startup has so far raised $7 million from piVentures, Dream Incubator, Axilor Ventures, Ankur Capital, BeeNext and others.
Tzar Labs, a molecular diagnostic company, along with Mumbai-based Epigeneres Biotechnology, has made an early detection and prognosis/diagnosis of cancer.
Sascan is Kerala based startup that is developing affordable optical imaging technologies that detect pre-cancerous changes in squamous epithelial tissues of the oral cavity and cervix. This intra-oral screening camera can be inserted into the mouth of a patient to locate early lesions in real-time, using an algorithm.
Cancer Moonshot is using AI-based software that produces innovative AI-based personalized treatment decisions software with evidence. The Bangalore-based startup can ingest cancer diagnostic conditions and produce personalized cancer treatment reports for treating a cancer patient for better outcomes for various cancer types.
Karkinos Healthcare, a Kerala based startup on a mission to create cancer centers without walls with a primary aim of addressing the accessibility or affordability gaps in cancer care. They are led by a blend of globally acclaimed medical professionals and technologists using cutting edge technologies like genomics, synthetic biology, sensors, and AI to analyze data and leading to the development of affordable cancer interventions.
Conclusion: Medical science and health technologies have become so advanced and they are bestowing blessings by diagnosing breast cancer at their early stage where it can be easily treated and save the precious life and transform it to a peaceful from stressful. Data shows that 99 percent of people with early-stage breast cancer were alive five years after diagnosis. In many cases they are considered to be cured, but in some cases it might come back as metastatic breast cancer. So, awareness plays the pivotal role in eradicating the ill-effects of this life-threatening disease.
Through GBCI (The Global Breast Cancer Initiative), WHO provides guidance to governments across the world on ways to strengthen systems for detecting, diagnosing and treating breast cancer in order to further their capacities and manage other types of cancer. The World Health Organization, on March 9, 2021, introduced a Global Breast Cancer Initiative to reduce global breast mortality by 2.5 percent by 2040. We should arrange and support breast cancer awareness campaigns more to give the women of India a healthy and long life to live. We also need to stand up and deliver on the healthcare front, by increasing the total healthcare budget of the country.
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