‘Obesity a risk for breast cancer’
LUCKNOW: Obesity is not only associated with general sickness alone. A recent trend shows that it is a risk factor for breast cancer too.
“There are evidences that being overweight or obese is a risk factor for developing postmenopausal breast cancer,” said Dr Vinod Jain, senior faculty at King George’s Medical University (KGMU).
“Fat cells increase oestrogen level in the body and it is scientifically known that oestrogenic effect is one of the risk factors for breast cancer,” he said.
Dr Jain’s unit in the medical university alone operates upon about 50 cases of breast cancer in a year. “Among the types of cancers afflicting people in the country, breast cancer is second on the list. But if we talk of urban area, it is number one now,” he said.
Other common cancers are cancer of the large intestine and gall bladder and doctors say it is a cause of concern that patients come to the hospital in an inoperable stage. “If we register 4,000 new patients in our department, over 10% suffer from these two problems. As majority of them comes in inoperable stage, they do not respond to medicine or radiotherapy,” said Dr Sudhir Singh of the department of radiotherapy.
Prof HS Pahwa, dean, CG City Superspeciality Cancer Institute highlighted cases of prostate cancer. He said, “Cases of prostate cancer are on the rise among all classes.”
PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE
Keeping in view the expenses incurred in treatment, doctors said that prevention was a better option. Physical activity, balanced diet, keeping stress/tension at bay and practising good lifestyle helped prevent diseases. “Though research is still going on, mental tension is being seen as one of the risk factors,” said Dr Jain.
Dr Madhup Rastogi, HoD of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Institute of Medical Sciences said that if cancer patient reached hospital on time, treatment could be effective. Early detection was important for better results.
Dr JB Sharma, senior consultant
and medical oncologist said, “The biggest reasons behind the rise in number of cases are highly disturbed lifestyle and toxins present in the environment.”