Breast Cancer-I: Awareness is the best precaution- An Interview with Dr. Lopamudra Das Roy

(This is the 1st part of the interview. The 2nd part will be published on 29 August, 2019)

PART-1

August 28: The nectar of life by which a baby gets nourished in all its aspects is the lactating mother who through her breast feeding of babies nurtures a new born to grow up with a sense of well being. When the same woman who in some cases at some point of life suffers from breast cancer, she finds little help from support system which comprises of family, society and of course government. The orthodox mindset of our society hinders the early detection of the same and it often gets aggravated to the advanced stages leaving no scope of returning back to normalcy.

Dr. Lopamudra Das Roy is the daughter of eminent child specialist of this decade Dr. Chandra Shekhar Das from Silchar. She is the founder and President of Breast Cancer Hub in USA. She did B.Sc in Zoology from G.C. College, Silchar and then did her Masters in Life Science from Assam University, Silchar. She also did her Ph.D from the same university in Molecular Biology. She got the post-doctoral fellowship from Mayo Clinic College of MedicineUSA. Dr. Lopamudra also did MBA from Northwestern Kellogg School of Management, Chicago IL ,USA.

With such a wide academic know how, Dr. Lopamudra Das Roy started her professional career as a Lecturer of Genetics in Garden City College, Bengaluru. She moved to University of North Carolina at Chartotte and served as Research Assistant Professor. She was awarded with grants as Principal Investigator from the Department of Defence (DOD).She also worked as a Research Director at Onco TAb,Inc.a UNCC spin off and as an Adjunct Associate Professor at UNCC. After working in various reputed institutions, she finally resigned from her job of  at UNCC and founded the Breast Cancer Hub (BCH) in USA in September 2017. Her new role was an urge to connect globally, break the taboo and increase the chances of survival of women and men with breast cancer across the globe.through awareness, education and research.

Dr. Lopamudra Das Roy recently came to India and attended a number of awareness sessions in different parts of the country. When she came to her home town Silchar, I took an interview of Dr. Lopamudra for way2barak.  While interacting with her, she spoke on a gamut of issues related to breast cancer. Her inquisitiveness for this subject was due to an incident which occured in her family.

She said, “As a teenager, I came across a funeral of my friends aunt. When I asked the cause of her death, an uneasy silence prevailed and none revealed the true cause. After repeated query, I learnt that the real reason behind the death of my friend;s aunt was breast cancer.That incident left a scar in my teenage mind.and helped me to structure a clear vision to work on breast cancer in the future.” Since then she made her mind to work for eliminating the myth centering breast cancer from the society.

After resigning from her job, she dedicated herself in making the people aware about breast cancer and educate people about it. In her own little way, Dr. Lopamudra has contributed in the declining death ratio of breast cancer in India. In comparison to the USA, the death rate due to breast cancer is very high in India. 1 out of every 8 women can have breast cancer in their life time and the instances are alarmingly increasing day by day. Ironically, the death rate is significantly higher in the developing countries compared to the developed nations. Now it’s the high time that individuals should have a clear vision to save lives of women (and men) by means of early detection via awareness, education and research. She highlighted the fact that, “Awareness is the best precaution.”

While speaking on the symptoms of breast cancer, Dr. Lopamudra Das Roy said that a lump in the breast, blood discharge from the nipples and changes in the shape or texture of the nipple or breast are the warning signs. After puberty, a woman ‘s breast consists of fat, connective tissue and lobules, which are tiny glands that produce milk for breast feeding.

Breast cancer is formed in the cells of the breast. Women with more dense breasts are more prone to breast cancer. Women who carry the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes have a higher chance of developing breast cancer. There are many stages of breast cancer. Up to stage 3 it can be cured. She lamented that most of the death due to breast cancer happens as a result of ignorance.

Dr. Lopamudra said, “We have to first break the shyness. We need to discuss it with others. Pain less lump or painful lump both are dangerous..for breast cancer. Women should go for mammogram. If it’s dense breast, then the patient should go for ultrasound, she should consult with doctor. If she finds any abnormality related to her breast than screening is also required. Self breast examination is the most easy way to detect early symptoms of breast cancer. Through the awareness sessions I conduct, people are made aware of the techniques of self breast examination on a regular basis. This really works like a magic. Knowledge can save some one’s life.”

It’s surprising that even man can have breast cancer too. Man usually feels embarrassed and get’s immense shock to face the stigma of having a predominantly woman’s disease.

(This is the 1st part of the interview. The 2nd part will be published on 29 August, 2019)