PCOS, breast cancer awareness event held at Women's College M A Road

Srinagar, Nov 6: An awareness programme on PCOS and breast cancer was held at Government College for Women, M A Road, Srinagar on Monday with guest speakers from Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura.
A statement of GCW, M A Road issued here said that the guest speakers included renowned endocrinologist and Head of Clinical Research at SKIMS, Prof Muhammad Ashraf Ganie; Professor at Department of General Surgery, Dr Natasha Thakur; and who is a scientist at PCOS clinic of the hospital Dr Syed Douhath.

Organised by the Department of Clinical Biochemistry in collaboration with the Healthcare Committee of the college, the event was attended by a large number of students and staff members.
In his address, Prof Ashraf said PCOS and breast cancer have emerged as two major health issues across the world including Kashmir.
Referring to the major metabolic consequences of these disorders, he said people with these disorders are predisposed to a plethora of other disorders.

He said that countries were going to face major economic constraints on their health budgets due to these disorders.
In her talk, Dr Natasha Thakur said breast cancer cases were now seen even in the younger age group of women which was not the case a few years ago.
She went on to elucidate the various risk factors like gender, age, rampant urbanisation, late marriages, late pregnancy, diet, and obesity.
“Family history of breast cancer is the most important risk factor and accounts for 15 percent increase in the risk of getting breast cancer,” she said.

Dr Natasha informed the gathering about the early signs of breast cancer like a lump in the breast, pain, nipple discharge, and changes in the shape of breast tissue. She enjoined upon the gathering to ensure self-examination routinely to enable early detection.
Dr Natasha also listed various precautions to ensure decreased risk of breast cancer.
In her address, Dr Syed Douhath discussed the nuances of PCOS.

She briefed the audience about the various symptoms of the disorder.
Dr Douhath said PCOS is one of the leading causes of infertility among child-bearing women.

She ended the talk with a description of various treatment strategies, medications, and lifestyle changes that need to be incorporated for the long-term management of the disease.

Earlier, in her welcome address, the principal of the host college, Prof Ruhi Jan Kanth said both PCOS and breast cancer have emerged as major health concerns among women.

She referred to the contributions of the invited speakers in the field of medicine and clinical research. Prof Kanth also presented mementoes to the guests as a token of appreciation.

Earlier, while introducing the guest speakers, HOD Clinical Biochemistry, Dr Asia briefly touched upon the common knowledge about PCOS and breast cancer.
HOD Home Science and Convenor of the college healthcare centre, Prof Sheeba Drabu presented a formal vote of thanks.