The Thing About Cancer: Prosthetics After Mastectomy (Part 2)

This is the second part of our conversation with Dr Rohini Patil. Here Dr Rohini explains the need for affordable and comfortable prosthetics after mastectomy (surgery related to breast cancer). 

Dr Rohini has visited many remote and rural areas of our country to spread awareness about breast cancer. She tells us of the plight of the women she meets there. 

Due to the culture of embarrassment around women’s health, many women refuse to seek timely medical help when they detect something unusual in their breasts. This leads to late detection and poor prognosis, with many women losing their lives to breast cancer. 

Every woman over the age of 20 years must examine her breasts every month. This is to look for lumps, any thickness of the skin, changes in the colour of the skin on the breasts, inward turned nipples, any depression or marks on the surface of the breast, and any discharge from the nipples. 

Learning to examine your breasts to detect cancer early, and visiting a doctor as soon as you find something unusual, is very important to ensure a successful treatment for breast cancer. 

Dr Rohini works to provide free prosthetics knitted with 100% cotton yarn, through the Indian chapter of Knitted Knockers. She has a network of volunteers who knit these for her and she has suppliers who donate the cotton yarn for this purpose. She receives a lot of requests for these prosthetics in the hospitals she visits, over social media, and through word of mouth. 

These knitted knockers can be customised to suit the shape and size of the other breast. Since they are made of cotton yarn, they are washable and are soft to touch, ensuring comfort, confidence and dignity to the survivor. 

If you would like to be a volunteer, or if you would like to request a Knitted Knocker, please send us an email at community@onco.com and we will put you in touch with Dr Rohini.