Ten minutes is all it takes to get a wealth of new information. Ten minutes, that’s it. You could find out that you’ve received the promotion you’ve been dreaming about in ten minutes. You might read an interesting story in ten minutes. You could write a short blog post in ten minutes. You could learn something that could change your life in ten minutes. You could find that you’re a father, a sister, a brother in ten minutes. That’s all it takes, ten minutes. You could even find out that you have cancer and it will take around ten minutes. Your life can be turned completely upside down in those ten minutes.
“Every woman when she hears the word ‘cancer’ is paranoid about it because she thinks she is going to die and that’s the first thing that comes to a woman’s mind.” Says Dr. Vijeetha Dravid [MBBS; MS], a breast surgeon, “following which, her next concern, especially if she is from a lower socio economic status, is how her family is going to manage treatment and support themselves financially.”
The main concern for women, in her experience, is getting better and getting rid of the disease altogether. But sometimes grim determination may not be enough. “It is unfortunate that many women who’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer are already in stage II of the disease or they have tumors that are more than 1 or 2 cm large. This puts them in a category wherein they have to undergo all three forms of treatment for breast cancer: Surgery, Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy,” She says. Of these, Chemotherapy is the worst as it takes a lot out of the woman physically and mentally. In fact, many women do not continue with Chemotherapy simply because the side effects relating to their appearance, nausea and the fact that therapy lasts for 5 to 6 months is simply too much to handle. So is it wise to have a counselor there to help you through the course of treatment? “Absolutely,” says Dr. Vijeetha, “And not only for chemotherapy, I mean I would say right from the time of diagnosis there has got to be one point of contact for psychological concerns that she might have; even if her questions are for the smallest of things. Besides, the physician may not have enough time to address everything that the patient comes up with, which is why a counselor is very important.”
On some of the psychological issues faced by a woman with Breast Cancer, she recollects that there are incidents where a woman feels a profound sense of loss regarding her femininity and this in turn tends to affect the quality of her sexual life. “That’s where you bring in the partner to make him understand what she’s going through. That’s where the role of a counselor is very, very important. To help the partner, not just the patient, but the partner to understand what it means to her because it can affect the sexual and physical life of the couple. It is important at such a traumatic time for the woman to have strong social support, and this is where a psychologist would help.”
In terms of appearance, she finds that most women are able to find alternatives such as adjusting their outfits and obtaining implants or reconstructions. Apart from that, women are able to come to terms with the amputation. However, as times and trends change, women belonging to younger generations look for other alternatives to make up for their losses. Ultimately, their health is their number one priority.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and all over the world, people hold rallies, drives and campaigns to bring about awareness of the importance of regular checkups and early detection of breast cancer. Dr. Vijeetha believes that awareness about early detection is of the utmost importance, and encourages women to begin self-examinations for the symptoms of breast cancer at the age of 25 combined with a sonomammogram once every three years. After the age of 40, women should seek scans at least once a year with a clinician. “This can make a huge difference in preventing and protecting against cancer. Many women come in believing that they have no risk for breast cancer because there is no family history, but that is a myth. Anyone can get breast cancer. It’s about being aware and knowing what steps to take to ensure that you are properly cared for.”
There should be strong emphasis on screening and awareness in a cancer like breast cancer. “It is one of the few cancers that can be screened. Very few cancers can actually be looked out for. Many types of cancers just show up and people notice after the first symptoms occur. When you know that there is something that you can look out for in an easy way, in a ‘do-able’ way, why not? Knowing it has an impact on your social, psychological, physical, financial, and spiritual part of life, why wouldn’t you take preventive measures?”
So, why wouldn’t you? For many young women, screening is “unnecessary” because “I’m too young to get breast cancer”, but cancer can affect the young even if it is primarily a disease of menopause. Sometimes, checking for cancer can be scary, especially when you’re waiting on results. It could just be the lack of willingness to accept that breast cancer is real, that breast cancer can affect you. But mostly, I believe, women are afraid that once diagnosed, they may not be able to come out of it. To them I say, “Breast Cancer can be beaten.”