Mysuru: Narayana Multispeciality Hospital in City launched the Digital Mammography Unit for timely and accurate diagnosis of breast cancer. This initiative was taken to make high-end medical facilities accessible to more number of people in and around Mysuru.
With the new digital mammography unit located within the hospital premise, a number of people will be screened for breast cancer and they will be educated on early detection and self-examination of their breasts. K Dinesh, Philanthropist and co-founder of Infosys inaugurated the Digital Mammography Unit along with Asha Dinesh. Dr. Devi Shetty, Chairman Narayana Health and Nitin Aiyappa, Facility Director Narayana Multispeciality Hospital. A self-help booklet on “Breast Cancer Awareness” was also released by Asha Dinesh on the occasion.
Commenting on the launch of Digital Mammography Unit, Dr. Devi Shetty said, “The mammography unit is our step towards making quality healthcare more accessible to people and to create awareness about breast cancer and screening for early detection. Mammography is the globally accepted gold standard for breast cancer screening and diagnosis. Unfortunately, a high percentage of women are not aware about mammogram or its benefits.”
Highlighting the incidence of breast cancer being on the rise, Asha Dinesh said, “Innovation is a means to better healthcare and breast cancer in particular is now a preventable disease with advanced technology available to detect and treat the same at an early stage. According to a recent report, approximately 1.5 lakh patients are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in India. The digital mammography unit is an excellent initiative by Narayana Multispeciality Hospital in providing greater access to a larger population and creating awareness on the importance of breast cancer screening and prevention, thereby reducing the enormous costs of post-operative care.”
Dr. Palaniappan, Consultant Onco-Surgeon, Narayana Multispeciality Hospital, said “Mammography is an important tool in the diagnosis of breast cancer. It helps in detecting breast cancer in its early stages. Digital mammography has improved the accuracy of detection of breast cancer with an overall sensitivity of 75 percent. Mammography has reduced the mortality due to breast cancer by 30 percent in women”.
Speaking about the prevalence of breast cancer in India and especially in Karnataka, Dr Palaniappan, said, “Breast cancer is the most prevalent cancer among Indian women. Karnataka as a state has the sixth highest incidence of breast cancer in the country. Breast cancer alone amounts to 27 percent of all cancers prevalent among women and the majority of them are in urban areas. These days, it has become more common in the younger age group and about 53.2 percent of all women suffering from this cancer are below the age of 50 years.”
Cancer has become very rampant in India in the recent past. There are about 25 lakh cancer patients in India, out of which 1.4 lakh are in Karnataka alone and are estimated to increase at the rate of 35,000 patients a year. In the past few months, Narayana Multispeciality Hospital had organised breast cancer screening camps, hematology clinic as well as surveillance programmes for head and neck cancer awareness and screening. According to cancer specialists, head and neck cancer is the most prevalent apart from gastrointestinal, cervical and breast cancers that are commonly seen in this region.
