gurgaon seventyfour years old indira jasuja a cancer survivor remembers visiting a doctor the day she had felt a lump in her breast jasuja who was 59 years old then says she was saved because she was aware i had undergone breast preservation in which only the lump and not the whole breast was removed i could save myself because i was aware however many women discover that they are suffering from breast cancer when the disease is in an advanced stage and the chance of getting cured is less says jasuja who is also joint secretary of the indian cancer society ics with more young women being detected with breast cancer nowadays the indian cancer society has declared 2013 as breast cancer awareness year and is taking various initiatives to make people aware breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in urban and rural areas second only to cervical cancer which remains to be the most common type in women across the country breast cancer has gradually become the leading cancer type among women in metropolitan cities says dr ashok vaid chairman of medical oncology haematology medanta cancer institute medanta the medicity in delhi and ncr instances of breast cancer is rising by 2 per year with 31 new cases per 100000 every year says dr vinod raina director hod medical oncology haematology fortis memorial research institute gurgaon while breast cancer is more common in older women mostly between 45 and 55 years of age dr vaid says more young women are being diagnosed with the disease than beforethere is almost equal distribution of patients in the pre and postmenopausal age groups with a little preponderance in the premenopausal age there is increasing detection in the age group of 35 years and below he says experts attribute the rising instance of breast cancer to late age at marriage and hence late age at first child birth lack of breast feeding besides sedentary life style and obesitythe exact causation of breast cancer is not known there is some evidence to say that obesity alcohol consumption inactivity and high fat content in the diet may be the predisposing factors but not the causative ones a family history of breast cancer increases the risk prior personal or family history of other cancers like ovarian cancer can also heighten the risk says dr vaid lack of awareness only delays the detection of the disease and brings down the chance of cure not only that the amount of treatment required and hence the resources required also increases with advancing stage of the cancer dr vaid adds to spread awareness about the killer disease and to celebrate the spirit and courage of breast cancer survivors the indian cancer society and dlf city club gurgaon on friday hosted the festival of hope the pink blue fest showcasing fashion wear from select designers and models who were all breast cancer reconstruction patients there is life after cancer and each