BREAST CANCER AWARENESS

Hi friends... sorry for the long break in between..just been lazy I guess.

What spurred me to write my next post on the blog was an interview by RJ Malvika with Mrs.Jayshree on RadioIndigo ( fm91.9). Mrs. Jayshree is a Breast Cancer Survivor and she was talking about her whole experience with the disease and its aftermath and how she coped with it.

Nice to hear her experience and am sure it will help other women too. But I thought that some issues needed to be emphasized more from the point of view of the disease process and the options. So this being a awareness month with special emphasis on Breast Cancer, i thought i need to try and compile certain aspects of the same.

I think the first aspect to be dealt with should be the awareness issue regarding breast cancer, then comes the issue of dealing with it , then the treatment options and of course the rehabilitative aspect.

Awareness regarding breast cancer though picking up, is still not reach the extent to which it should. Many reasons behind it and one of the main reasons in our context is the taboo behind talking about anything related to sex. As the breast is a sign of femininity and female sexuality any talk about it is taken as taboo and hence women also tend to shun away from seeking knowledge about the same. Education is the only way to improve awareness. We see many women with advanced stages of breast cancer because they were shy to seek treatment or talk to anyone.

The first thing that any women should know and realise is that breast cancer is another disease and as with any other disease the earlier it is detected the easier it is to handle. The most important person in this “ early detection” sequence is the woman herself. “ Self Breast Examination” is an easy,simple, quick, painless test that any woman can do at her convinience.

Not every cancer can be found this way, but it is a critical step you can and should take for yourself.

Many a times the reason a woman does not want to do a SBE is because she feels so many things and feels confused. The more you examine your breasts, the more you will learn about them and the easier it will become for you to tell if something unusual has occurred.

Try to get in the habit of doing a breast self-examination once a month to familiarize yourself with how your breasts normally look and feel.

Examine yourself several days after your period ends, when your breasts are least likely to be swollen and tender. If you are no longer having periods, choose a day that's easy to remember, such as the first or last day of the month.

Don't panic if you think you feel a lump. Most women have some lumps or lumpy areas in their breasts all the time. Eight out of ten breast lumps that are removed are benign, non-cancerous.

What's important is that you get to know the look and feel of YOUR breasts' various quadrants. Has anything changed? Bring to the attention of your doctor any changes in your breasts that last longer than you monthly period cycle or are getting bigger with time.

Studies show that regular breast self-exams, combined with an annual exam by a doctor, improves the chances of detecting cancer early.

How to do a Self Breast Examination?

I could also write about self breast examination but will only serve to increase the already 1,630,000 pages on breast examination which you get on doing a google search. I'd like to highlight a few pages one could visit to know more about it.

1.Cancer patients Aid Association(CPAA) which has a lot of information and free download brochure

http://www.cpaaindia.org/infocentre/bookreview_breast.htm

http://www.cpaaindia.org/infocentre/SelfBreastExamination.doc

2.DOCTOR NDTV which has an article on breast examination

http://www.doctorndtv.com/topicsh/Breast%20Self-Examination.asp

3.Breast Self Exam is another good site which will talk you through it

http://www.breastselfexam.ca/

4.The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation has a online breast self examination module which is also available in Hindi

http://www.komen.org/intradoc-cgi/idc_cgi_isapi.dll?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=480

Here's hoping this can spur some if not all women to start making self breast examination a part of their routine and help create more awareness regarding the same.

My subsequent blogs are going to be dealing with some of the surgical options for breast cancer and more importantly I will be touching upon the options for breast reconstruction which is a topic many of the breast cancer patients are not aware of or do no even consider.

Dr.Surindher
www.cosmesisindia.com

NDTV " We the people" Experience

Hi all......



Sorry for the break!!!

Been busy sorting out a few things. But, I had a nice experience of being invited to the NDTV studios for a talk show hosted by our favourite show anchor " Barkha Dutt" !!!!

Yes I'm talking about the show " We the People"! Well, it was a nice experience, though rush rush and of course an eye opener in many ways to me. The topic was whether cosmetic surgery is becoming a dangerous trend and whether people are willing to undergo cosmetic surgery just to look good to conform to social " beauty preferences"!

I won't go into the things that people felt and said but yes there were a few things I thought I should highlight. I felt that there are a lot of misconceptions about the whole plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery issue as a whole.

1. One recurring theme that came out during the discussion was about " putting people into a mould" or like something that came out of an assembly line.

Firstly, I would like to refute the fact that we try to put people into moulds. Which mould are we talking about? Is there a mould at all? In fact this is what we try to emphasize that, the essence of cosmetic surgery is to bring about the necessary changes BUT preserving the attributes which make the individual the person he or she is...... which is the real challenge.

Also, what looks good on one person will not necessarily look good on another because every individual is different, so it can't be one size fits all. This is what makes it all the more challenging. So, the concept of having assembly line beauties will never happen.

Who wants to be similar to the rest... everyone is fighting to be unique .. don't you think?


2. The other thing that came up was that, we are forcing people to change .. which is an uncalled for statement. We are offering a service but not forcing anyone to come and undergo a procedure. One can't even force another to have coffee with them, let alone ask them to undergo surgery. Right???

So, it is basically people who have always thought about it or felt the need to have a certain feature corrected who come enquiring for options. And when they do, our job is to guide them.

Of course we talk to people who come with unreasonable demands asking for unnecessary things and I can speak for my fraternity when I say that most will refuse to do something which is not warranted or is potentially dangerous for the patient. This is the reason for such blogs and discussions, so that people are aware of what is good and what are the risks involved.

And as even the panelists said that day .. We are not asking people to change- if one is happy the way he/she is.... then one would NOT come asking for a change in the first place.

Ever so often in any party or get together that I go to, the Q that I'm most often asked when people get to know I'm a plastic surgeon is " What would u like to do on me?? or What should I get done? ".... and for all these questions there is only one answer.. " NOTHING".

We do no solicit patients.

3. Another thing which came up was, if it was such a good thing then why don't people come out into the open and "admit" they have undergone a cosmetic procedure.

I think there are quite a few who do. But since most of them get it done for their own satisfaction I don't think there is any need for them to advertise it openly. Like one of the patients said... " do you go out and tell people that you had waxing done?? " Similarly, where is the need to tell anyone that they had a cosmetic procedure done? A fair argument one would say.


4. Cyrus Sahukar, brought out a valid point that a beautiful face always elicits more responses. A child responds more positively to a beautiful face so who are we to fight something that is natural.

Everything in nature has a balance. When things are in balance there is equilibrium and harmony ensues from it. Hence the aim is to bring things into balance thereby paving the way for harmony.

5. Ms.Akhila, my co panelist brought out a point that not much is being done for people with leprosy and transsexuals who are in the hands of wrong people.

With due respect I would like to say that, many of my colleagues are performing free surgeries for leprosy patients in many of the leprosy missions. DO I do it?? No, I don't now!!! I Salute my colleagues doing the less glamorous tasks of our profession.

I'd like to bring out a point though. Though there are many centres doing such surgeries the sad part is people themselves do not want to go and get the corrections done.

A prime example is the the " SMILE TRAIN PROJECT " which I am a part of .. providing free surgeries to children with cleft lip and palate. We at our hospital along with Smile Train have provided free surgeries to around 1200 children suffering from cleft lip and palate, free of charge. BUT, at the same time there are two children at the traffic junction next to the hospital with the condition and we have not been able to get them in for surgery. the reason for this being.... if they get corrected then no one will give them alms...!!! THAT is the sad fact, which holds true for many poor leprosy patients too and yes I'm not generalising the statement. Just stating what we do come across.

As for surgeries for transsexuals and them being in the clutches of middle men and other's, it is a political and social issue. We can do the surgeries provided they come to us instead of going to quacks.


6. Another factor which was brought up was, the affordability factor. Yes it is not an essential procedure so it need not be done as an emergency . People can go for it as and when they are comfortable. And previously the cost factor was a major issue but nowadays as more and more people have come forward to take up the profession , the costs have come down.


7. Is it a dangerous trend?

Yes, like anything in this world it can get dangerous when people start getting strange ideas about what all can be done. Which is the reason I made the following statement on the show - " I DO NOT operate a patient after the first consultation itself."

I give them the risks involved, the possible complications and the expected results. By doing this, we are giving the chance to back off if they are not keen on it.

If a survey is done, I'm sure all doctors will tell you that there are many patients who are refused surgery because either they do no need it or their demands are unreasonable.

And, of course, its not a miracle solution to anything. We doctors, DO NOT claim any miracles like " loose 5 inches in 1 week"..." get fair glowing skin in 15 days ".. so on and so forth because, we best know that the body doesn't work that way.

Apart from surgery and drugs, proper care of diet, exercise and lifestyle changes are necessary to have a lasting effect.

Overall, it was a nice experience. All the panelists were brilliant. The audience was very co-operative though many said they wouldn't undergo a cosmetic procedure.

Lastly, but not the least... the crew and support staff of NDTV both in front of and behind the camera... were all awesome and very helpful. A few names I'd like to mention are - Vasudha, Neha, Lancy, Chitrita, Maya.... and of course our favourite TV host - Barkha Dutt.

It was a wonderful experience, though only the tip of the iceberg could be scraped because of lack of time. Hope we have more such similar shows which will help dispel myths about plastic and cosmetic surgery!!!!


Dr.Surindher
www.cosmesisindia.com