How breast cancer treatment suffering during pandemic
Kochi Delay in breast cancer detection during the Coronavirus-19 epidemic has led to a drop in breast conservation surgeries, shows a study from a Kochi clinic. Breast-conserving surgery (BCS) removes caa ncer while trying to save as much of the normal breast as possible. The Kochi clinic study, admittedly one of its kind, still, points to a significant pattern that is discernable globally.
The Oncology Department of Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences ( AIMS), Kochi, conducted a study to estimate the effect of the Coronavirus-19 epidemic on the diagnosis and surgical care for patients with breast cancer in this institution. Medical records of the hospital from March 2020 to December 2020 were analyzed and compared with the data in the the-widespread time, i.e., from. March 2019 to December 2019.
Numbers of mammograms and core biopsies, number of new patients, total patients, breast surgeries before and after the epidemic were looked into. Added with this they checked out the time taken from diagnosis to treatment, duration of hospital stays and postoperative infection rate.
Universally, breast cancer incidence is rising due to hormonal factors, change in lifestyle, and the epidemic has challenged not only the area of treatment but also the field of diagnosis. There was almost a fifty-eight drop in new patients with breast cancer during the epidemic.
Even the number of diagnostic and screening mammograms dropped from in the the-widespread phase to in the wide phase. The number of breast conservation surgeries done was 127 in 2019, which dropped to ninety-three in 2020.
Indeed the mean duration of hospital stay has slightly increased post-widespread. But core biopsy figures and the total number of surgeries remained the same, implying that annual and routine check-ups might have been affected by the wide, but those coming with suspicious masses which required a biopsy and surgery remained the same, the study shows, surgery, along with radiation and systemic therapy, is the standard treatment offered for patients with breast cancer.
“World over it was predicted that during the original phase of the wide, cancer incidents would come down, but latterly it would go over and it would be further of advanced cancers, we have seen that pattern here. There is a decrease in cases but an increase in advanced footballs. When the disease is advanced it becomes tough to conserve the breast,” said Dr Misha JC Babu, clinical associate professor, General Surgery, Breast Disease Division, AIMS, Kochi.
The wait in seeking treatment is now six months to one year. Numerous of the patients admit that they noticed changes in the breast but delayed seeking medical help oft till reached an aggressive stage of cancer care is possible with proper resources allocation and adopting a multidisciplinary approach,” added Dr Misha.
SOURCE
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kochi/pandemic-hits-breast-cancer-treatment/articleshow/88766131.cms