Breast cancer awareness: Hospital staff wear pink masks

Bengaluru: In order to spread awareness about breast cancer and salute the spirit of survivors, the medical staff at Aster CMI Hospital donned pink masks, formed a pink-ribbon human chain, and educated the patients on early detection of breast cancer by holding pink placards.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients have started avoiding regular physical check-ups, including essential health screenings, like mammograms. This has put a huge burden on the medical and preventive care progress of breast cancer patients.

Speaking on the initiative undertaken by the hospital, Dr. Vijay Agarwal, Lead and Senior. Consultant - Medical Oncology & Haematology, Aster CMI Hospital, said: "Breast cancer is currently very prevalent among the women of the age group 40-55.

Due to the lifestyle changes, this disease has now started creeping up among younger women also. A simple measure such as breast self-examination can play a vital role in the early detection of the disease and can aid the doctors in successfully diagnosing it. Therefore, the sole motive of our hospital behind undertaking this initiative is to spread awareness about breast cancer."

Sharing his views, Dr. G Girish, Consultant, Surgical Oncology, Aster CMI Hospital, said: "Currently there are a lot of myths surrounding breast cancer. Due to which many women often feel anxious while undergoing breast cancer screening tests and many more choose to avoid these tests due to the fear of cancer diagnosis. One must understand that early detection can save lives.

Hence, with this initiative, we not only want to break the several myths surrounding breast cancer but also want to make women feel more confident?