Beauty and the breast

On Breast Cancer Awareness Day today, affluent survivors choose reconstruction surgery over cheap prosthesis

On Breast Cancer Awareness Day today, affluent survivors choose reconstruction surgery over cheap prosthesis

The small circle of sponge has been used by thousands of women as a breast prosthesis across India to restore dignity, but it's fast losing out to surgery.
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On Breast Cancer Awareness Day today, survivors say they're thankful for the prostheses, but are glad reconstruction surgery has come along.

For 28-year-old Deepa Sharma (name changed), breast reconstruction was the only option.

"The prosthesis was like having a ball of rubber stuck to me. I could afford surgery and the scarring doesn't bother me," she said, adding that surgery for one breast cost around Rs 70,000.

But at the Indian Cancer Society in Parel, Lolita Saletore often has the pleasure of witnessing a breast cancer survivor's face light up once she helps them put on a prosthesis.

CUP OF WOE: A woman stitches breast prostheses at the Indian Cancer Society, Parel.

"They're so excited, some don't want to put their dupattas back on," said Saletore.

The centre makes sponge and latex prostheses costing around Rs 100 and Rs 250 each, even though breast reconstruction has become increasingly popular among the affluent class.

Saletore underwent a mastectomy in June 2003 and wishes she could have chosen surgery, but doctors told her that she would have to wait for two years.
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"If it was immediately available to me, I might have gone for it," said Saletore who sports a silicon breast that's priced at Rs 6,000.

Choosing candidates for reconstruction also depends on the stage of diagnosis.

"Only patients who are diagnosed early can opt for the procedure," said Dr Suresh Advani, head of medical oncology at Jaslok Hospital. "Also, there's no bar when it comes to age."

In numbers

According to the Indian Centre for Medical Research, breast cancer in India affects around 30 per cent of every 1 lakh women every year.
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Moreover, experts say that the disease will spread to approximately 2.5 lakh women in India by 2015. The rate of growth in the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer increases in Mumbai by 2 per cent every year.
Celeb Cancer

American actress Christina Applegate, who played Rachel's sister Amy on Friends, was diagnosed with breast cancer u00a0last year.

Even though it was detected only in one breast, Applegate underwent a double mastectomy. Applegate is now scheduled to undergo reconstructive surgery over the next eight months.