As a constructive researcher, my focus is to create an environment where we can freely discuss all the natural and normal body changes faced by women and make them normalize. Our media has controlled this for a long but the time has changed and we should change our mentality and accept what is natural.
Women have been taught to be more compassionate and selfless and put others before us which is not a positive practice. We should not neglect our bodies and mind to put others before. It's time to focus on ourselves as we should and take better initiative towards women's health.
As a part of development in women's health, I want to focus on breast cancer awareness and take this October month as an opportunity to spread awareness as much as possible.
We are all aware of breast cancer and we must say that the internet has made our life easier as we can search about our symptoms and can evaluate or try to address the health problems better.
But breast cancer is complicated, so I didn't want to rely on the information available on the internet.
I need to address this and no one can be better than to take advice from a doctor who is specialized in this field.
I wanted to avoid visiting the doctor's chamber or hospital and tried a different way, thanks to Practo the way got possible, it's a mobile phone application where we can search doctors and make appointments online, and also get video consultancies, which I find an effective solution to many problems.
Opted for an oncologist, a doctor specialized in cancer treatments. Soon I was connected to Dr. M Ponraj.
This was the first time I was on a video call with a doctor. I wanted to record the whole session but as I was nervous and was my first video call, I was not aware of such facilities, I tried with my phone screen recorder, but that too was a failure. But I noted down the points which the doctors have focused on.
Started the conversation by disclosing my name and age. He gave a small intro about where he is from and work experiences. I said I wanted a checkup for breast cancer as I have small discoloration in the skin near the breast area and also, I never did my breast screening. So how to get a check-up.
I mentioned my interest to make awareness so I have a few other questions related to breast cancer as I want to spread awareness.
Points that Dr. M Ponraj shared.
Today's youth do start panicking after seeing some small changes as on the internet everything is available. And every symptom leads to some kind of cancer which is not true at all. In his service life, he has come up with cases where there is nothing serious, or either its later stage of breast cancer which is a total indication of lack of awareness and improper information circulation.
Most breast cancer cases are with age above 40, and below 40 the chances of breast cancer are much lower.
Cyst formation can be due to fat tissue deposit and can be non- malignant(non-cancerous).
Fat necrosis is a lump of dead or damaged breast tissue that sometimes appears after breast surgery, radiation, or another trauma. Fat necrosis is harmless and doesn't increase your cancer risk. It usually isn't painful, but it can cause anxiety. You should tell your doctor about any lumps you feel in your breast.
From Adolescent, till women are mother, women body gets a lot of hormonal activities and changes which might cause certain breast pains and uneasiness.
If the patient has a history of breast cancer from the mother's family then the doctor may suggest you for the checks to be more regular. The patient's father's history is not as such considered.
If there is a cyst occurrence on younger women age between 20-35 then they suggest an Ultrasonogram and doesn't suggest a mammogram as it emits few radiations which might not be ideal for younger women.
Mammograms are suggested to older women above 40. And also suggested if the sonography is not sufficient to diagnose the problem
Mammography is the process of using low-energy X-rays to examine the human breast for diagnosis and screening. The goal of mammography is the early detection of breast cancer, typically through the detection of characteristic masses or microcalcifications.
Self-examinations are the best ways to get a check-up and should be practiced among every woman in front of a mirror. A lot of articles and images are available to guide you on how to check.
The session was practical as I got cleared with so many doubts. And I will encourage every woman about this session and also get their own if they have doubts as only doctors can help us with a practical solution.
So basically, from this whole session I have two major things to giveaway one is the awareness is limited to younger generations.
circulation of information is very inadequate as they don't reach every section of women especially those who are not well versed with smart phones internet and computers.
My request for those who are reading this article, please spread this awareness at least to your family member who is elder than you and is not very versed with technology.
Please do talk about breast cancer and try to show them few awareness steps and videos and tell them to get counseled with doctors if required.
Feel free to speak with me regarding this.
Let's bring hope and create a world a better place for women.