Interview: Don't ignore early symptoms of cancer, warns Dr Manisha Patnaik

Dr Manisha Patnaik, the surgical oncologist at Max Specialty Hospital, Dehradun, has an important message for women on Women's Day. Dr Manisha gives a piece of important advice to women cancer patients not to ignore symptoms and take time off to think about themselves.

Dehradun (Uttarakhand): Creating awareness among women on cancer to mark International Women's Day, Dr Manisha Patnaik, surgical oncologist of Max Specialty Hospital, Dehradun, advised women to care about themselves and not to ignore symptoms

Speaking further about the symptoms, Dr Patnaik said, "If a woman is bleeding despite menopause, blisters have formed in the mouth or painless lumps have come up in the breast or cough is persisting for a longer period, pay attention to such symptoms and try to consult a doctor or inform family members.

Every year International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8, but a woman tends to ignore her problem and doesn't want to speak about or discuss it with her hubby or other family members. A woman prefers to keep any developing medical conditions or symptoms unto themselves, which could prove fatal in the long run.

"Whenever a woman comes to see me along with her hubby, brother or any other family members for diagnosis and the moment I tell her that she is suffering from breast cancer, the woman patient starts looking at hubby or whomever she is accompanying. She starts thinking about her family, the cost of the medical expenses that her husband will have to bear, who will take care of her children, and several other worries," said Dr Manisha.

"Breast or cervical cancer is common in India and the disease affects other organs of the body also. But, a woman diagnosed with breast cancer didn't talk about her surgery or she doesn't worry about undergoing a surgeon's knife. She doesn't enquire about which organ will be taken out of her body during the operation. But, she asks how much will be the cost of medical treatment. How her children will survive in her absence (during hospital stay). How long she will stay in the hospital," elaborates Dr Manisha, the details of a woman cancer patient's psyche, before the starting of the treatment.

Dr Manisha delving into a woman cancer patient's psyche, further said, "A woman cancer patient thinks about everybody in the family, other than herself. But, what I want to say is that a breast cancer patient should not ignore her symptoms because cancer is a fatal disease if not diagnosed or treated early. A woman should think about the well-being of herself then only she will be able to take care of her other family members."