Despite the effectiveness of mammography in early breast cancer detection, many women in India still avoid it due to myths, modesty concerns and misinformation calling for a push to make scans as routine as blood-pressure checks.
Glimpse:
Though mammograms can boost survival rates to as high as 95 percent when cancers are caught early, cultural barriers and gaps in awareness continue to limit uptake across India. Experts are calling for a shift in mindset and access to make this screening standard practice.
In India, breast-cancer awareness months see social media campaigns and hashtag trends, but the gap between awareness and action remains wide. Senior gynaecologists point out that many women believe mammograms are painful, emit hazardous radiation or are only needed once a lump appears all myths. A senior consultant noted that the actual radiation dose is minimal and the discomfort lasts seconds, yet the benefit in early detection lasts years.
The confusion between self-examination, clinical breast examination and mammography also persists. While self-exams familiarise a woman with her body, they cannot detect microscopic tissue changes that mammograms can. Experts urge healthcare policymakers and advocacy groups to treat mammograms as a basic health check and integrate them into primary-care pathways.
“The greater risk lies not in screening but in not screening at all.”
By
HB Team
