Every 8 minutes, one Indian woman dies of breast cancer, says UN advisor; Calls for urgent action

Breast cancer has become the most common form of cancer among Indian women and the numbers are rising faster than ever before. According to Globocon 2020 data, one woman in India is diagnosed with breast cancer every four minutes and dies from it every eight minutes.

“There are about 1.78 lakh new cases every year,” says Dr Sabine Kapasi, Gynecologist, IVF Specialist, and Global Health Strategist, Advisor at UN. “If the current trend continues, we are likely to see the number cross two lakh by 2030. What’s even more concerning is that many Indian women are getting breast cancer nearly a decade earlier than women in western countries.”

Doctors say this worrying trend shows why women in their 30s and 40s should get checked regularly and know the signs early.

Late diagnosis costing liv