Dr Anand Koppikar has been treating breast cancer for 14 yrs and is a campaigner for regular check-ups

Ensuring pink of health for patients

Dr Anand Koppikar has been treating breast cancer for 14 yrs and is a campaigner for regular check-ups

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October being the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, various activities were conducted in the city.

"This is the Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In India, this disease is on the rise. One in every 28 women is affected by the disease in urban areas," said Dr Anand Koppikar, a leading oncologist.

Dr Anand Koppikar, a Puneite, completed his studies here and then had short stints in Mumbai, Australia, Germany and USA.u00a0 Today, he is the founder trustee of the Prashanti Cancer Care Mission and is the chief cancer surgeon and head of oncology at Jehangir Hospital. He's been working on cancer right from the start of his career.u00a0 "Since 1996, I have been working on this disease," he said.

Elaborating on the conditions in the country, he said,"There are two problems in India. One, it happens at an earlier age ufffd 40 to 55 years ufffd while in the West it is after 50 or 60. That may be because our population is more in that age group. Two, owing to lack of awareness, it is detected late."u00a0

According to him the cause of breast cancer in urban areas could be the western lifestyle, more working women, improper diet and lack of exercise. "Exercise reduces cancer by 30 per cent," Dr Koppikar said. "Breast cancer is definitely a lifestyle disease. In the West it has a high incidence." He also observed that the West has started adopting vegetarianism, yoga, and non-smoking. But now, India has the second largest number of smokers in the world; China is at first position.

He also dispelled the myth that breast cancer is hereditary.

He also said that the affected breast need not be removed, thereby dispelling a widely held myth. "There is oncoplastic surgery (see box) today that does wonders," he explained. "We at Prashanti Cancer Care Mission try and do it throughout the year. We organised some 50 camps in the last four months in the city, in factories, schools, colleges, housing societies, to name a few. The response has been good and the lectures got acceptance."

He said that if mammogram is done at an early stage, then life could be saved. "What it has taught me is that this disease is curable. It is preventable and the recovery is entirely in the hands of the patient. I feel happy to see a patient recover. I feel content, when I see people come forward for an early diagnosis," he said.

To mark the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr Koppikar said they had decided to go in for a mobile mammography unit. "Most women do not go for mammography simply because it takes half-a-day in a hospital.u00a0 That's why we have decided to go in for a mobile mammography unit that's fully equipped. This unit will go door-to-door and do the test for those willing within 15 minutes. This should substantially increase early detection," Dr Koppikar said. "In future, this will be a one-stop centre for helping those who suffer from breast cancer."

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