Women ignoring breast lumps for months a concern; Apollo oncologist calls for screening, early diagnosis and health education
SHILLONG, Oct 17: A breast lump that goes unchecked for six months could mean lost time in the fight against cancer. For Meghalaya, where the cancer burden has emerged as a major public health concern, the challenge is not merely treating the disease but ensuring that people recognise its warning signs before it is too late.
Dr Harit K. Chaturvedi, CEO and Clinical Head of Apollo Oncology Network, has warned that women continue to delay seeking medical attention for breast lumps, sometimes for three to six months, because they assume the changes are harmless. He believes that overcoming this tendency, alongside improving access to screening and reliable health information, is central to improving breast cancer outcomes.
Speaking to The Shillong Times, Dr Chaturvedi said a recurring problem in clinical practice was that women often failed to take changes in their breasts seriously until considerable time had passed.
Asked why they had not consulted a doctor earlier, some patients told him they had assumed the lump was one of several ordinary bodily changes.
His concern is that such assumptions can cost patients valuable time.
“Early detection saves lives,” Dr Chaturvedi said, warning that a six-month delay could reduce survival prospects and that earlier intervention could make a substantial difference to treatment outcomes.
The warning carries particular relevance for Meghalaya, part of a Northeast region that has consistently featured prominently in India’s cancer statistics. Cancer registry findings have identified high cancer incidence in parts of the region, including East Khasi Hills, while tobacco consumption remains a major concern in the state’s wider cancer profile.
Yet the breast cancer picture requires a more specific understanding. Dr Chaturvedi said breast cancer incidence in India was rising by around 2 to 2.5 per cent annually, with approximately 2.25 lakh women diagnosed each year. He distinguished this national trend from the cancer pattern in the Northeast, where cancers of the food pipe and stomach are major concerns and tobacco consumption is an important risk factor.
His observations underline a distinction often lost in discussions about cancer: a high overall cancer burden does not automatically mean that every form of cancer is rising at the same rate or for the same reasons. Meghalaya’s cancer challenge requires attention to its particular disease patterns, while ensuring that breast cancer awareness and timely diagnosis are not overlooked.
For women, Dr Chaturvedi’s message is direct. A suspicious change should not be dismissed simply because it does not cause pain or because there is uncertainty about its cause. He urged women to seek medical advice for persistent symptoms, saying changes that continue beyond three weeks should be medically assessed.
A lump does not necessarily mean cancer. But determining whether it is harmless or requires treatment is a matter for proper medical evaluation, not guesswork or prolonged waiting.
Screening and access to diagnosis
Dr Chaturvedi called for greater access to mammography screening for women aged 40 and above, alongside better public awareness of symptoms and the importance of seeking timely medical advice.
He said the response to cancer should rest on three principles: preventing what can be prevented, screening for diseases where screening is appropriate, and detecting cancer as early as possible.
The challenge is to turn those principles into action. Awareness campaigns can inform women about symptoms, but their impact depends on whether people can obtain medical consultations, appropriate investigations and follow-up care when a warning sign appears.
For Meghalaya, this raises a broader public health question about how awareness, screening and access to diagnostic services can be strengthened together, particularly for people who may otherwise delay seeking care.
Dr Chaturvedi said breast cancer risk could be influenced by several factors, including increased body weight and reproductive history. He also pointed to changing dietary habits and insufficient physical activity as concerns, particularly in metropolitan populations.
He said diets increasingly rich in sugar and carbohydrates, with less fibre and greater reliance on preserved foods, were unhealthy patterns that deserved attention. A lack of exercise was another concern.
However, he placed particular emphasis on early detection and awareness rather than suggesting that lifestyle alone explained breast cancer incidence. The immediate priority, he said, was to ensure that women recognised symptoms and did not postpone medical consultation.
Health education must begin in schools
The oncologist also called for health awareness and healthy living to become part of the school curriculum, arguing that children should learn practical life skills relating to nutrition, exercise and wellbeing from an early age.
He expressed concern that children were spending increasing amounts of time in front of television and mobile phone screens instead of participating in outdoor activities, athletics and exercise.
Schools, he said, could play a greater role in promoting healthy habits and teaching children the importance of physical activity.
On cancer awareness, he said women should become familiar with their bodies, recognise unusual changes and understand when medical attention was necessary. Breast awareness, appropriate screening and timely investigations should be part of a wider effort to make health education a routine part of life.
Better treatment, but time still matters
Dr Chaturvedi said breast cancer treatment outcomes had improved significantly over the years, owing to advances in medical science, improved treatment methods and greater public awareness.
He also credited the media with helping disseminate information about cancer, saying awareness had increased compared with two decades ago.
Doctors now understood breast cancer better, and treatment options had improved, he said, describing the overall direction of progress as encouraging.
But those advances do not remove the importance of diagnosis at the right time. The disease must be identified and assessed before doctors can determine the appropriate treatment, and delays may affect the options available to patients.
His advice to women was to become comfortable examining their breasts, including while showering, and to report unusual changes to a doctor. Self-examination is not a substitute for professional assessment or recommended screening, but familiarity with one’s body can help identify changes that need attention.
For Meghalaya, the wider cancer burden demands sustained attention to prevention, diagnosis and access to treatment. In the case of breast cancer, Dr Chaturvedi’s warning points to a problem that public awareness alone cannot solve unless it changes behaviour: women must be encouraged to seek help when they notice a suspicious change, and the healthcare system must be ready to assess it.
The critical question is not simply whether people have heard of cancer. It is whether a warning sign prompts them to seek medical attention or whether months pass before they act.