Concerns for breast cancer support group for Asian women

A radiologist fears for the future of a support group launched to improve early diagnosis of breast cancer amongst Asian women.

Consultant radiologist Anil Jain at University Hospital of South Manchester launched the group in October 2011, hoping to improve cross-cultural communication between doctors, nurses and the Asian community, and allow patients and carers to share their experiences.

Professor Jain,who has researched breast cancer care for six years and has spoken about the inequalities that exist, said,

“There is a real concern that health inequality work will be the first thing to be cut with the reorganisation of the health service and ongoing financial cuts. This certainly will have further detrimental effect on screening uptake among Asian women."

He added,

[There is a] changing demographic within the UK and a more diverse population, [and] unless we focus on these populations they will be left behind. It is not only South Asian women, but also black and minority ethnic and poorer white women among whom the uptake for breast screening is low. It is worst when poverty and ethnicity are combined.”

The support group was launched in October last year in response to a surge in the number of breast cancer cases among Asian women over the past 10 years.

One of the aims of the support group is to get patients and their carers to communicate with health professionals about ideas to improve screening uptake and breast awareness among Asian women.

Professor Jain said,

“It is always more powerful to have your own patients contributing. If they have had quite positive experiences, they become champions to motivate other women to come forward for breast screening.’

The initiative is also looking at what sort of information is available, and at how to break down language and cultural barriers. Professor Jain says that breast cancer is something of a taboo among the target community.

He says,

‘Women who have had mastectomies are not considered complete women. Other women refuse to hug them.’

The recent spike in breast cancer cases among Asian women is put down to their increasingly Westernised lifestyle; the disease is also affecting them at an earlier age.

But Professor Jain says,

‘Uptake of breast reconstruction after mastectomies is low among Asian women. One of the reasons, I think, is because they don’t get information. Breast cancer patients get good survival rates, and that means we want them to survive with happy lives as if they never had [the illness].

He added,

‘Reconstruction improves body image and improves lives. This is even more relevant because [with] breast cancer [among] Asian women the average age is 45, compared to 57 [among] white women. It is occurring at a younger age, so they have a much longer survival.’

Professor Jain’s plans for this year include running workshops for other healthcare professionals. He is also looking at using technology to help combat language barriers; DVDs, for example, can help mammographers explain breast screening to patients.