Voice of Healthcare
Virtual Session on Think Pink, Act Now: Screen. Fight. Win
Think Pink, Act Now: Screen. Fight. Win.
A Special Feature on International Women's Day
Join us for an empowering One-on-One Session with Dr. Khushboo Jain Karnawat, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Karnawat Cancer Hospital, hosted by Dr. Manisha Khurana. Learn about the significance of early screening, innovative treatment options, and proactive steps in the fight against breast cancer.
Date: 15th March 2025
Time: 1:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Organized by: VOH | Supported by: Cadila Pharmaceuticals
Register Now: https://zfrmz.in/BQ87lzp71YD0nLBOMe0G
Together, we can make a difference—because awareness saves lives! 💖
#ThinkPinkActNow #CadilaOncology #ScreenFightWin #BreastCancerAwareness #InternationalWomensDay
[Music] hello everyone and welcome to this crucial discussion on women's cancer today we focus on the part of early detection advancements in treatment and the role of awareness in saving lives in this world virtual session think pink act now screen white win organized by voice of healthcare and cadilla pharmaceuticals despite medical progress many women fear barriers to screening due to fear misinformation or lack of exess how can we break these barriers especially in underserved communities how can we ensure Innovations like genetic testing Precision medicine and AI driven diagnostic speech every Beyond treatment Cancer Care must address as emotional and psychological wellbeing support systems and education are just as vital as medical behs we are honored to have Dr kushu Jen Kat consultant medical oncologist kwat cancer hospital here with us today to share her insights with the what what are the advancements you know shaping future of wom's Cancer Care let's engage learn and work towards a world where prevention and early intervention can make can less of Welcome Dr thank you so much thank you so much for the kind uh introduction so Dr kushu why is early detection so critical in improving cancer survival rate and can you share some real life cases where early diagnosis made a significant difference see uh early detection is the most important thing which an oncologist can offer for uh a patients completely cancer-free survival because if the if the cancer is detected in stage one for example we take an example for cervical cancer or breast cancer if it is detected in stage one then the chances of that patient living his normal her normal lifetime that is almost as good as 98% 99% and if the same disease is detected in stage three or stage four the chances of her survival for for her fiveyear survival drops down to 20% 30% so this is a very big uh Advantage if the uh cancer is detected in the first stage hence uh the early screening early detection is the most important thing uh an oncologist can offer to their patient and also um if you want to uh talk about an example I will give example of Angela Jolie which is a very famous example uh she is she was detected germline braa 1 positive that means she has some cancer mutation genes in her blood so she chose to underwent bilateral mastectomy prophylactic bilateral mastectomy that means she decreased her chances of getting breast cancer by almost 99% before even she could have been diagnosed with the cancer so that is the power of screening and early detection right so early detection leads to uh you know good survival and leading the normal life as you said and if uh uh you know you have some jine mutation or genetic testing can help uh you know uh to reduce the risk as well so what are the biggest barriers preventing women from undergoing regular screening like mogram papsmear or genetic testing how can we break these barriers especially in Rudder or unders communities right if we specifically talk about India the rural area the biggest barrier I see is lack of awareness because when I talk to the patient and uh her relatives that there are these options available for which she can undergo regularly these test she can undergo regularly which can decrease her chances of uh getting uh like of getting a cancer or which can uh like help her in early detection and cure so these patients do not really accept these things very easily there is a lot of uh education which needs to be imposed uh at regular intervals for these patients so the first and foremost thing is lack of awareness the second thing is social stigma because in 2025 also the patient patients are not really willing to discuss openly about their fears about any breast lump or uh uh the bleeding py the common symptoms with with which they they present so the social stigma is another big thing the third thing is uh Financial issues because whatsoever is the case still these test are uh little expensive for our rural patients uh rural population and uh the fourth thing is the availability of test because um the region from which I belong right now we don't have mamography units uh in rural areas so the patient has to travel around 100 150 kilometers to get a mamography done which is again adding to the cost of the uh test because the patient has to travel so much so these four things I think these are the barriers which are causing uh like which are preventing population to get regular screenings rightly said that social stigma I believe it is it can easily be you know taken care of and uh they should come forward if they have a lump or bleeding TV they should discuss about it and of course accessibility is one thing like the have said that in L and under cilities uh some of the tests like mammograms are not available okay so P women also Fe cancer screening due to some myths and misinformation how can Healthcare professional encourage routine checkups without causing unnecessary anxiety right uh see there are two biggest myths which I come across in my day-to-day uh practice the first one is cancer diagnosis mean means death right if the patient is diagnosed with cancer that means she is going to die that is one big myth which I come across and the second one is uh that if the patient has uh got screening done and the reports are negative that means she's cancer free and she's never going to have that cancer uh so these two myths are really like patient really need education regarding these two things I would address one by one the first one uh see as I told you if the cancer is detected in first stage the chances of living a normal life is as good as 98% 99% nowadays so the patient obviously the patient education should be there that even though she is detected with a cancer there are good possibilities that she will live her normal life so that is one thing and the second myth which she has if once the tests are negative the screening test is negative then she's not going to have cancer in rest of her life so she doesn't come for a second routine checkup that is a very uh big thing which big issue which needs to be addressed so I think the regular educational campaigns will help this thing uh because the patient the population needs to know that cancer can occur in later stage even though the prior screenings were negative hence regular screenings are very important so that's a very good message I believe because once they are cancer free you know after taking treatment whether it's a surgery or a chemotherapy or radiation and reports them Negative they don't come from one so that is a misinformation which needs to be addressed right uh what role does family history play in determining uh woman's cancer risk and how can genetic testing help in proactive healthare that is a very important question because family history in women's uh Health Care uh health is very important since breast cancer ovarian cancer these are few cancers which are very frequently associated with family history like I uh like I have patients who have cancer in every generation of their family right so these are very important uh uh cancers which uh in which family history needs to be taken care of uh well the most common genes which are braa 1 and braa 2 these genetic mutations are very common with breast cancer and ovarian cancer and the if the patients undergo these test and if if come positive not only that there is a screening Advantage genetic screening Advantage for the family there is Advantage for the patients also because we have targeted therapy available for these genetic mutations so yes gen family history takes uh it is very important in patients treatment and also uh U as far as family is concerned so uh of course genetic testing is important uh as far as the screening is and also it helps us in personalizing the treatment plan as well uh so how do genetic testing and personized Medicine help with tailor treatment to individuals patient and are these options accessible to average patient in India uh see genetic testing is widely available now it is available anywhere and everywhere because of so many Labs we have for genetic testing uh but yes affordability is one thing which needs to be addressed although there are many companies which are sponsoring these genetic test so uh but still there is a gap because first first thing uh if a mother comes with breast cancer and I ask for a genetic testing she doesn't undergo this uh test willingly because she thinks that she has two daughters and those two daughters will be affected with her test report that is one thing and the second thing is uh even uh if it is over cancer or breast cancer they think that there is nothing going to be changed after genetic testing she's once diagnosed with cancer she will have cancer and she has to undergo the rest of the treatment so they don't think that genetic testing at that point when she's diagnosed at that point it is important for her so these things need to be reinforced to the patient and to the family that genetic testing is not only for just for test sake it is for the patient because that has therapeutic implication also and also the future Generations need to be prevented from developing cancer based on those tests correct and um uh what do you think are the most promising breakthrough in breast cancer and ovarian cancer treatment today uh see we are very lucky that we are in 2025 because we have really good targeted therapies really good Therapies for precision oncology which are available for breast cancer ovarian cancer um if we talk about breast cancer we have herto targeted therapy which is troman which was earlier approved for herto positive patients now we have trosa dertien which is uh which is helpful in her to low patients also which which were earlier considered as her2 negative then we have immunotherapy immunotherapy works very beautifully in triple negative breast cancers if we talk about um hormone positive breast cancer I have really good patients which are who are stage four hormone positive breast cancer and they are really doing very good on just on the hormonal therapy they are not requiring any chemotherapy so with minimal side effects these patients are being uh these patients are undergo like treatment very happily and uh they have just they just have to come once a month for their treatment even in stage four cancer and then uh if we talk about ovarian cancer the biggest breakthrough uh in last decade in ovarian cancer is availability of par inimers because um which is again braa 1 Brea 2 targeting drugs parp Inhibitors so these have really given good results in prolonging their survival uh good uh Pro progression free survival they deliver so yes we have good drugs uh in recent times for both the cancers correct so we have targeted therapy mapy uh these are available survival definitely can be increased uh we also have some homebased and non-invasive screening methods for woman cancer uh what do you think about those uh non-invasive homebased tests well um see as of now homebased test tests are not validated in clinical practice so I would really not recommend homebased test but yes there are few tests like breast self examination which has proven to be beneficial for the patient which has to be done once in a month so yes self breast examination is one thing then I guess with upcoming artificial intelligence we will have a better we will have better test uh homebased test which can give us more precise results and I guess after clinical validation those will be available for the patients um but as of now uh homebased test I would not recommend those test because those test will unnecessarily uh give apprehension to the patient and will not give results all right so maybe in future we'll have it after validation uh yes and if you have to dispel one dangerous myth about cancer that woman we today what would that be that is cancer means death right right yes it is it is one of the biggest I believe with the the Advent of targeted and immunotherapy and you know personalized treatment plan we can increase the survival and nobody should you know defer themselves from having these treatments these are available I recently lost one patient of breast cancer because of this myth only she was diagnosed with breast cancer in her stage two and that was completely curable but she did not undergo any of the uh further investigations or treatment just because uh she thought that she's going anyway is going to die why to waste her money so that patient then came after two years in stage four and we could not save her but uh that is a very uh like painful situation for an oncologist that a salvageable case was uh like that was a salvage salvageable case but she died because of this myth exactly and people don't you know aail the treatments which are available of course we can make it more affordable and accessible that is uh one barrier which we can break right uh so are there any specific lifestyle factors that women often Overlook but can significantly reduce their cancer risk yes uh one thing is balanced diet that is really lacking in our uh diet because uh women do not take proper protein intake they do not understand the importance of protein the diet they have is generally carbohydrates and fat only so that is one thing the balanced diet is very necessary second thing is uh the importance of regular exercise because whenever I ask my patients uh those who are cured of cancer I tell them to maintain a healthy lifestyle to uh do regular exercises what they answer they give me answer that uh I do all home uh like they do their home work so uh their household work they do every day and that is better than exercise but this myth has to be broken because regular exercise really means a lot uh if it comes to cancer prevention uh so these two things yes I will and a regular screening yes right so exercise is very important maintain a healthy weight eat well and get yourself screened also because uh the tests which are available are very good especially the papsmear when integrated with molecular testing it picks up human papilloma virus uh and you know um and I believe that cical cancer is preventable with the back being integrated totally yes yes yes correct so uh again I would ask you with advancement in cancer research uh do you see a future where cancer becomes completely curable preventable we have just talked about sural cancer but curable cancer is curable if many of the cancers are curable so uh yes with more advancements because we are like daily we get some updates about the new molecules which are coming up with these promising molecules yes definitely we are looking for a cure right and uh we being humans we will not stop at any low any lower molecule other than the molecule which is going to cure the cancer so yes definitely with the recent cancer research we are going to uh hope for the cure for every Cancer available although there are many cancers which are still curable which are curable at present also right and uh since you are a medical oncologist who have been practicing um you know oncology and treating patients and also seeing their Journey while going through oncology uh treatment uh so what what do you think that how important important is emotional support and psychological support during this complex Journey that is one of the most like I will I will say that it is equivalent to the cancer surgery chemotherapy or radiation therapy the psychological support is equ it works equivalent to all these therapies because the patient at every step of her treatment the patient needs psychological support she needs to know that what is going to be going to happen with her what is her chances of survival how painful the treatment is going to be all these things are frequently these questions are asked to us and uh also women being women they have their concern about their family their husband their children so all these things needs to be addressed and psychological a proper professional psychological support should be provided to patients at the very first T at the very first visit of the patient since she is diagnosed with cancer from that very moment we have to provide psychological support right uh I would also like to know that in your so what initiatives have you taken so that people should come forward right and get themselves screened whether you have some uh educational programs or some health checkups how do you address this uh we do one Camp a month every time uh every month so uh we do it for free of cost so that rural population can come together for screening uh we uh we have some educational activities also which we do on regular basis like for on International women's day we did one educational activity uh so time to time uh we do educational uh uh activities and we have a few uh displays which are uh which are like U providing uh information regarding regular screenings so that uh the patients and their relatives or the those people who come to meet the patients in hospital they can read they can see in their free time and they can also get educated uh meanwhile regarding cancer screening so these are few things we practice right and how widely genetic testing is available in your area MOG genetic testing yes genetic testing how widely is it see uh there is no lab which is running genetic test in our area but it is all all outsourced so we have a we have representatives from every lab which are available in India so genetic testing is available only thing is the people are not so aware and they are not so willing for to undergo genetic test yes correct uh again um from your area only um can you share some real life examples where targeted therapy mapy and precision medicine has really helped the patient um see if I talk about Precision targeted therapy I would uh give you an example of lung cancer I have 45y old female who was diagnosed with lung cancers two two years ago uh so she was egfr mutation positive we started on targeted therapy oim D and to my surprise this is two years she had brain Mets also by the way uh so previously it was General Norm that if the patient presents with brain Mets the average survival is not going to be more than 6 months but this is two years post Her diagnosis she's currently on the same therapy on oima which is just one pill per day and she's doing fine she's uh like uh she's pet complete response so that is one very good case of precision oncology and targeted therapy and with minimal side effects she's not like now if I ask her about how is she feeling she tells me that she doesn't feel that she's a cancer uh patient so that is one beautiful drug right and then if we talk about immunotherapy yes immunotherapy works wonders because I have a patient of survival IAL cancer metastatic cervical cancer she was treated for cervical cancer in 2014 with radiation and chemotherapy and she recurred in 2024 so we offered her immunotherapy along with chemotherapy and after six months of her therapy her she's again in pet complete response U because of some reason I had to stop uh um immunotherapy for her because she developed arthritis but even off drug she's more than six months she's off drug and still she's pet that is a very big thing which is there so yes these Works uh these medicines work wonders for the patient and if you have to give advice to women of today that how can they take charge of their cancer risk and over Health what would that be I would tell them to take their health seriously because women in uh like in general women they are mother they are wife they are sisters they are daughters but they are not themselves so I would tell them just why there is a need to celebrate a women's day because there is because patients uh because women do not take their health seriously they do not take themselves seriously so self love is one concept which is very uh very much in talk nowadays so women should learn self love and in self love they should learn to how to take care of their health and they should undergo regular screenings as advaned right I think that is a very good message that early screaming really helps and uh if we detect the cancer especially in stage one and stage two especially in breast there we can save the breast we can do the organ uh you know saving procedures and also yes and also we have the targeted IMO therapies and you have given a very good example of lung cancer patient uh because I believe that Precision onology torch per lung cancer with egfr mutation and the targeted therapy is available for all these um you know driver mutations I believe that uh we can definitely increase the survival and women uh also should um uh take care of themselves by by getting regular p uh test done and getting hbv uh molecular testing done so that it can be picked up early and uh uh even at the stage of you know dysplasia if can be treated especially the pre-invasive and dis plastic cancers they can definitely be taken care of early and stage one stage two they are you know curable and I believe that future is good and there are certain cancers which we would be able to eradicate especially the survial cancer with all the vaccines available uh I think it should be there in the immunization program and a very good message that that women should take charge of themselves get themselves scen and uh you know get detected early and win over the cancer thank you so much for joining us you're welcome it was nice talking to you yeah all right [Music]
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