‘Breast cancer accounts for 30% of 35,000 cases’

Thirty five thousand cancer cases have been referred to doctors through an online portal named as Navya Online, of which nearly 30 per cent of the cases were related to breast cancer.

Navya Online (www.navya.care) provides multi-disciplinary evidencebased expert opinions within 24 hours to thousands of cancer patients in urban and non-urban areas in the developing world. A prospective study that assessed the real world impact of this service concluded that patients shared the expert opinions with their treating providers and received evidence-based treatment.

Breast cancer is the most common one in Indian women and accounts for 27 per cent of all cancers cases in women. Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed one in women worldwide, with more than two million new cases diagnosed in 2018.

According to doctors, the majority of breast cancer cases coming for a second opinion to Tata Hospitals are referred from states such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Around 30 oncologists participate in helping patients with breast cancer to decide what their next steps should be through Navya.

Dr Naresh Ramarajan, Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Navya said that there are myths among the women that breast cancer cannot be cured even if it is detected at an early stage. They should understand that if they get to know about it early, then the chances increase of getting it cured if they consult a proper doctor and hospital for the treatment.

“Patients do not understand with modern surgical techniques, only removing cancer while saving the breast is often possible and the whole breast need not often be removed. The majority of breast cancer patients are diagnosed between the ages of 40-65 years of age when they are in their working careers or taking care of their families,” he said.