Here's How Visually Impaired Women Can Help Detect Breast Cancer

Hospitals have recently been employing visually impaired women to conduct breast examinations to detect lumps as small as half a centimetre to help diagnose breast cancer. The procedure, lasting about 30–40 minutes, was devised by German gynaecologist Dr Frank Hoffmann via his enterprise Discovering Hands, and the method was expanded to India in 2017.

The procedure, which lasts for about 45 minutes, involves trained visually impaired women who use their sense of touch to detect breast lumps or changes that might be a symptom of lurking cancer.

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The visually impaired women use a braille-marked documentation tape to measure the breast centimetre by centimetre, and the findings are submitted to a doctor who takes the call on further assessments.

Ritika Maurya, a 23-year-old trainee medical tactile examiner (MTE) at Enable India, a disability rights organisation in Bengaluru, told The Guardian that she has no vision in one eye and can only see shapes from the other. She added that her impairment had heightened her tactile abilities, and science supports her. She also revealed that women are more comfortable undressing before a visually impaired examiner.

MTEs can detect lumps that are as tiny as 6–8 mm, while sighted physicians can only detect 10–20 mm-sized lumps. The system was first introduced in India by the NAB India Centre for Blind Women and Disability Studies, Delhi.

A study by the organisation found that tactile examinations were performed on 1,338 women this year, and 78 percent of malignant cancers were detected and only 1 percent were missed.

The MTE training was expanded to Bengaluru in 2020 by Enable India. Shanti Raghavan, the founder, shared that the organisation aims to make breast screening available in every village in the country.

Eighteen MTWs have been trained in both Bengaluru and Delhi since 2017. Six of them are now employed in cancer hospitals. Eight trainees are about to graduate, and the next group will soon be selected.

Breast cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in women. It’s one of the leading causes of death from cancer among women. 60 percent of the cases are found only in the third or fourth state, reducing the rate of survival significantly.

Dr Poovamma CU, a surgical oncologist at Cytecare Hospital in Bengaluru, pointed out that routine breast cancer screening by MTEs could be made available even in remote regions without access to mammograms and ultrasound machines, and that would have a significant impact in India.

Visually impaired women have been making strides and proving that nothing can stop them from achieving their goals.

One notable example is Minal Singhvi, a visually impaired woman who runs an online radio community for people with disabilities. Hailing from Hyderabad, Singhvi is connecting people in over 119 with her community radio called Radio Udaan.

The platform aims to raise awareness about people with disabilities and gives them equal opportunities to express themselves.

Feature Image Credit: The Guardian