Health Awareness | Indian Pharma Network

Sonali Bendre on cancer: The treatment is actually more frightening and painful than the disease.

Last year, Sonali Bendre was diagnosed with high-grade cancer. She had to go to New York to get treatment. She became a beacon of inspiration to millions of fans, as she continuously shared updates of her treatment and was determined to "switch on the sunshine" in her words

Sonali returned to Mumbai in December, and has been very vocal about her journey. At the International Conference organised by Consortium of Accredited Health Organisation (CAHO), she said though the disease is scary, the treatment is more painful.

"Early detection is most important. Right now the disease is less scary the treatment is actually more frightening and painful. If it were detected early, the cost of treatment would have been less. It would also have been a lesser painful treatment," she said.

How can you deal with breast cancer during pregnancy?

It may sound strange, but it is possible to get breast cancer during pregnancy. The occurrence is of course quite rare and it is estimated to happen to one in five thousand pregnancies. Getting pregnant is not a risk for getting breast cancer, but it is possible that the hormonal changes during pregnancy could aggravate the condition of a person who already has cancer cells in the breast.

Breast cancer could occur during pregnancy or even in the first year of postpartum. This is usually seen more in geriatric pregnancies or those who delay their pregnancy. Therefore, it is thought that the number of pregnancy associated breast cancer rates will continue to rise. A study says that only 6.5 per cent of women under the age of 40 are affected by breast cancer during pregnancy.