Every October, nations all over the world observe Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This promotes awareness, early discovery, and treatment of this illness. In India, breast cancer has emerged as the most common malignancy among urban women, and the incidence is rising daily. In India, one woman receives a breast cancer diagnosis every four minutes. In India, one woman passes away from breast cancer every eight minutes. In her lifetime, 1 in 28 women will get breast cancer; in metropolitan areas, this number rises to 1 in 22.

The condition is identified in stages 3 and 4 in over 50% of Indian women. Due in part to late-stage diagnosis, the survival rate for breast cancer patients in India is about 60%, far lower than the 80% observed in the US.

Breast cancer is partly caused by hereditary factors. Other known causes of this condition include nulliparity, early menarche age, late first pregnancy age, obesity, alcohol consumption, and cigarette smoking. Compared to women in rural areas, the incidence of breast cancer is significantly higher in metropolitan areas. The primary cause of this is the disparity in lifestyle. The main factors contributing to the increased prevalence of breast cancer in our state are urban populations’ altered lifestyles and Western dietary habits.

In general, breast cancer rarely manifests as pain. Lumps, which may not be seen but can be felt, are frequently found in the axilla or breast. Lumps are not always a sign of breast cancer. If breast cancer is found early, treatment outcomes are generally favorable. One of the best methods for early breast cancer screening is self-breast inspection. Ruby Cancer Center is providing mammograms at a subsidized rate of Rs. 500 till December 15, 2025, as a special effort to promote early cancer screening.

To raise awareness among the general public in Kolkata, West Bengal, about the significance of early detection of breast cancer, Ruby Cancer Centre, a division of Ruby General Hospital, in collaboration with Ruby General Hospital and Ruby Cancer Care & Research Foundation, organized a beautiful awareness rally from Ruby General Hospital starting at 9 am. The event had drawn around 350 participants. Celebrities from different industries and notable figures who attended the Cancer Awareness Walk congratulated the cancer survivors, who are the Real Celebrities and Ambassadors for raising awareness about early identification and treatment of the disease.

The rally saw the presence of 20 cancer survivors and their families, along with nurses, hospital staff, students of Ruby Nursing School and College, eminent Oncologists like Dr. Partha Mukhopadhyay, Dr. Somnath Sorcer, Dr. Oindrila Biswas, doctors of other specialties like Dr. Bhaswati Das, Dr. Tirtha Pratim Purkait, Dr. Rimita Dey, and others were also present.

Eminent personalities like Phalguni Chatterjee, Sudeshna Roy, Chandan Sen, Vicky Nandi, Arindam Ganguly,  Anindya Banerjee, Saikat Mitra, Satrajit Sen, Sayantani Guhathakurta, Anilava Chatterjee, Alvito D’Cunha, and Mehtab Hossain also took part in the awareness rally.

Priyanka Dutta