R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, JUNE 22
An 86-year-old courageous retired headmistress of a private school in Chennai had successfully undergone cancer treatment for the 2nd time, after 27 years and survived. She was given treatment to remove 5-6 ill-defined nodules on her left chest recently at the Kauvery Hospital Chennai, a unit of Kauvery Group of Hospitals, a leading multi-specialty healthcare chain in Tamil Nadu.
Announcing the successful procedure on Tuesday, Dr Kirti Katherine Kabeer, Consultant – Breast Specialist and Oncoplastic Surgeon Kauvery Hospital Chennai said, “This woman had a breast cancer which was diagnosed in her late 50’s. At that time she underwent chemotherapy followed by surgery-mastectomy where her left breast was removed. She was then put on cancer protective medications for some time. Recently, she approached the team of Oncologists at the Kauvery Hospital and informed that she was able to detect some nodules in the same region of the breast that had earlier been removed. An ultrasound was performed on her which showed the presence of 5-6 ill-defined nodules on her left chest wall, the largest measuring 13 mm. Ultrasound guided biopsy done from the nodule confirmed cancer recurrence. We then ran a PET-CT Scan through her whole body which helped us to visualize & confirm the nodules. The disease was limited to the chest wall area and had not spread to the other parts of the body.”
- After a thorough discussion in the multidisciplinary tumour board, we decided not to put her through chemotherapy considering: Dr Kirti Katherine Kabeer, Consultant – Breast Specialist and Oncoplastic Surgeon
- 1 in every 8 women is prone to breast cancer in India: Dr Aravindan Selvaraj, Co-Founder & Executive Director
“The nodules on her left chest wall were removed through a revision surgery, where we removed the cancerous growth, old scar and some margins around the affected area. After a thorough discussion in the multidisciplinary tumour board, we decided not to put her through chemotherapy considering the early stage of detection, low grade features of the cancer and her age. She was once again advised for cancer protective medications which block certain hormones in the body that can influence the growth of certain types of cancer. Patient was relieved of her symptoms and radiation therapy was delivered to the chest wall in addition to the medications,” Dr Kirti Katherine Kabeer added.
Dr A N Vaidhyswaran, Director and Senior Consultant Radiation Oncologist, Kauvery Hospital, Chennai, who had delivered a safe the radiation therapy on the chest wall of the woman said, “The radiation therapy was continued for 5 weeks through Image-Guided Radiotherapy (IGRT) technique, as we had to keep in mind her advanced age, fragility and the tolerance levels of her heart and the left lung which would be exposed to the field of radiation during the therapy.”
Appreciating the patient for self-breast test, Dr A N Vaidhyswaran said, “The take home message from this story is that, an elderly woman was able to detect subtle abnormalities in her body at the correct time. Not once, but twice, self breast examination, early detection and time appropriate management has provided a good quality of life. Women should be encouraged to perform self-breast examination periodically, firstly to know what is normal for them and then to report any lump or change at a very early stage. Women can also utilize the cancer screening facilities in the nearby hospitals so that cancerous growths and pre-cancer changes as small as 1 mm can be detected and treated early. Today there are different approaches in treating breast cancers such as preserving the breasts, cosmetic surgery and advanced radiation therapy’.
In a statement, Dr Aravindan Selvaraj, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Kauvery Hospital, Chennai, said, “The key message here is early detection, which can be done by self-examination. Lumps, nodules, and other abnormalities should not be ignored; they can be easily identified by oneself.Early detection and treatments are crucial and shall help to avoid complex surgical procedures like breast or organ removal. One in eight women is prone to develop breast cancer. Women can easily identify tumors of 1 cm or less, which can then be confirmed by an oncologist. In this particular instance, it was this elderly woman’s wise decision to consult the medical expert in time that facilitated early detection and appropriate treatment.”
