PANAJI
As October shines a spotlight on women's health observed globally as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the disease continues to emerge as one of Goa's biggest public health challenges. It remains the most commonly diagnosed cancer among women in the State and data shows that up to 180 cases a year are detected in Goa annually. Concerned by the trend, Health Minister Vishwajit Rane has repeatedly stressed the need for regular screening and early diagnosis and the Directorate of Health Services has held mass screening drives through the primary and secondary health system across the length and breadth of the State through the flagship Swasth Mahila Swasth Goa programme. It uses the non-invasive iBreast screening device with health workers taking cancer detection beyond hospitals and into communities, especially in the rural regions, a top health official said. The outreach has been extensive and nearly 2 lakh women have been screened, helping detect close to 100 breast cancer cases at an early stage and flagging over 3,300 women for further investigation. "Screening is key to early detection. I urge all to take health seriously and get screened," Rane said.
Hospital data paints a similar picture. At the Goa Medical College and Hospital's Department of Medical Oncology, breast cancer accounted for 23 per cent of all 1,550 new cancer patients registered in 2025. No other cancer type recorded a higher share.
Doctors The Goan spoke to say several factors drive the breast cancer burden -- longer life expectancy, lifestyle changes and delayed diagnosis.
A recent research-based study of 570 cancer patients in Goa found breast cancer to be the most frequently diagnosed malignancy, making up nearly 27 per cent of all cases analysed, according to one of the research team members. The research vaguely linked the trend to obesity, poor dietary habits and inadequate physical activity. Noted pathologist, Dr R G Wiseman Pinto, who spent decades studying cancer patterns and pathology at Goa Medical College, underscores the importance of early diagnosis in improving survival outcomes. A former head of GMC's Pathology Department, Pinto who contributed extensively to cancer-related scientific literature, including studies on breast tumours and cytopathology, maintains that awareness, routine screening and timely intervention are crucial and most effective strategies in reducing breast cancer mortality. Goa, meanwhile, has recently moved to strengthen cancer surveillance and last month declared cancer a notifiable disease under the Goa Public Health Act.
Doctors, hospitals and diagnostic centres must now report every newly diagnosed case to the Directorate of Health Services within a stipulated period, paving the way for a State Cancer Registry, a long-awaited database that will allow health authorities to track trends, identify high-risk groups and plan interventions based on real-time evidence. Cancer specialist Dr Shekhar Salkar called it a "landmark and much-needed public health decision" adding that better reporting would strengthen diagnosis and treatment planning across Goa.
