Jehangir hospital is the only hospital in Pune to establish a dedicated Breast Care Centre with all modern facilities, latest technology equipment and senior specialist doctors. On this occasion Dr. Sujata Malik (Director: Medical Strategy and Development), Dr. Anupama Mane (Breast Surgeon) and Dr. Shona Nag (Medical Oncologist) were the dignitaries present on dais.
Talking about the need of such dedicated breast care centre renowned Medical Oncologist, Dr Shona Nag said, “The centre will offer end-to-end solutions for all types of breast cancers. It is equipped with the latest technology, which is not available at any other hospital based set up. Early detection of cancer is important to achieve complete cure.”
While talking about the difference between digital mammography and traditional techniques, Dr. Anupama Mane said, “Digital mammography technique is highly sensitive that it can be used for picking up the small lumps of breast cancer. These results are upto 95% accurate compared to 70% accuracy in traditional techniques. This technology is less time consuming and results get generated on computers instantly. So we can modify the quality of image like changing its contrast and resolution or zoom it as per our requirement. This image can shared between various breast experts. This will help in better diagnosis and knowledge sharing.”
On this occasion Dr. Sujata Malik said, “Jehangir Hospital has been catering to the health needs of the people of Pune, for many years; hence we have taken the lead to establish a state of the art breast care centre in Pune, that will provide all modern medical facilities, a comfortable environment, and an extremely well-qualified and respected team of woman breast clinicians, under one roof, to provide care beyond treatment.”

The highlights of this centre are as follows:
• Digital Mammography: This is the most sensitive modality for screening and diagnosis of breast diseases in women above 40 years of age. It has higher resolution and clarity than routine conventional mammography. It has high accuracy rates for diagnosing microcalcifications and small lesions (less than 1 cm).It is less time consuming and no processing of film is required unlike conventional mammography. It is very useful in diagnosis of breast diseases in dense breasts.

• High Resolution Sonography with Elastography: Sonography is an easily available and inexpensive investigation for diagnosis of breast diseases. It has no radiation exposure and is not painful. It is used for diagnosis of breast problems in younger women and as an adjunct to mammography in older women. It can also be used during breast surgery for better localization. It also provides guidance for doing image guided biopsies and aspirations. Elastography in addition to high resolution sonography provides more information about breast lesions, thus helping in accurate diagnosis.

• All women team: The Breast Care Centre team is an all women team consisting of senior breast specialist doctors, nurses, mammography technicians, clinical psychologists, lymphoedema experts, physiotherapists, genetic counsellors, lactation specialists etc. Being in an all women Breast Care Centre, ladies feel more comfortable during their check-ups and investigations.

• Multidisciplinary management: The treatment of all cancer patients is decided by a multidisciplinary team comprising of expert doctors in medical oncology, breast surgery, radiation oncology, plastic surgery, breast radiology and pathology. This enables all patients to receive best treatment with a common consensus according to standard guidelines.

• Specialized care: Breast surgery is a superspeciality branch of surgery. Breast Care Centre provides this specialized care for all breast diseases including benign diseases, malignant tumours, reconstructive surgeries, oncoplastic surgeries and cosmetic surgeries (breast enhancement, breast reduction and breast lift procedures). Utmost care is taken to provide best possible results with minimum morbidity.
Speciality clinics - Breast Care Centre has separate speciality clinics for different breast related problems like-
1. Lactation clinic- This is for pregnant and breast feeding women to discuss about correct breastfeeding techniques and to detect any breast problems at the earliest. This helps in promoting breastfeeding and preventing any major complications at a later stage.
2. Lymphoedema clinic- This is for all breast cancer patients who undergo surgery. The experts in this clinic teach the ladies how to take care of their arms after the surgery to prevent excessive swelling (lymphoedema) of the arm. Arm exercises, massaging, correct bandaging techniques etc. are taught to the patients for prevention and treatment of lymphoedema.
3. Genetic clinic- This clinic is run by genetic counsellors and doctors to assess the genetic risk of developing cancers for the women and to provide advice for prevention and risk reduction of cancers. Genetic testing can also provide guidance about cancer management in patients.
4. Mastalgia clinic- This clinic is for women who have recurrent pain in the breasts due to hormonal changes. This pain is usually very long standing and troubling and can increase the anxiety of the patients. Pain charts and systematic medication protocols are used to treat this condition.