Cancer is a disease that has ripped many families apart from their loved ones. Often showing less or no signs, cancer cells grow in the form of tumours, and if not detected can consume the person whole! Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer worldwide. Slowly but surely breast cancer survival rates have increased and this has given people hope with advances in breast cancer screening and early detection.

With many breast cancer awareness weeks, workshops and lectures, people are more educated on the matter and how to talk about it. In India, many women face the stigma of not speaking about the matter as it is considered shameful and degrading. The only way to battle this issue is to keep speaking about and not treating this as a ‘women’s issue’ as anyone who has breast tissue is susceptible to cancer. There are many at-home steps you can utilize to keep a check on yourself if you are worried about going to the hospital on a whim. Signs you should look for are lumps and thickened area of skin that feels different from the surrounding tissue. If your nipples look flattened or tuned inwards and there is a change in the colour of your breast skin, you must visit your healthcare professional for a check-up.

Many brave survivors have shared their stories and what they went through during the trying times. One such survivor has shared her story with us. *Sunita Rai, a 41-year-old woman from Bangalore spoke about her diagnosis and her treatment after.

How It Began

“So, I felt a lump at the end of February, around 24th, then I felt a lump at my right breast. I thought it might be an abscess or maybe mastitis or something of that sort or maybe PMS. So, I booked an appointment with my gynaecologist on the following Monday, which was the 26th of February. And her initial thought was also probably an abscess or a lump, mastitis or something of that sort because when I was breastfeeding my child about 4-5 years ago, I had some blocked ducts. So, I thought maybe something unhealthy occurred. However, she also said on physical examination, she noticed some discolouration of my skin.”

With the prompt response of her doctor's availability of the correct equipment, Sunita was able to get a sonogram and an X-ray mammogram. The results however did not put Sunita at ease, she was quickly referred to a surgical oncologist. The following days brought forth the diagnosis that the masses were carcinogenic initially with invasive ductal carcinoma, which prompted a deep biopsy, which confirmed the presence of invasive papillary carcinoma.

Family History and Genetic Tests

When there are breast cancer detections, it immediately prompts the question of whether there is a family history. Sunita’s doctors recommended these tests to her as 41 is still a very young age to get breast cancer, citing that it is more common in women above the age of 61. “He recommended that we do the genetic testing specifically for the BRCA1 and 2 gene. But we decided to go ahead and test for the entire genome mapping. We did check for my child's risk because the TP53 also has, I mean, there are multiple childhood cancers which are associated with the TP53 gene which could manifest. So, we did go ahead and get an exemption for my child and get her tested. Other than that, my parents gave it to me for testing, but the result has not yet come out. So, I did it.”

Sunita expressed that she had to take some time to explain why everyone in her immediate family needs to get tested. There was pushback, but eventually, they did send the samples. The reason why it was important for them to get tested as it may have been a new mutation, or it may have been inherited from someone in the family, “We were in touch with somebody from the Strand Life Sciences Team, who specialise in advanced genomic technologies that drive breakthroughs in clinical diagnostics, personalise treatment plans, and research. They had a very quick response, they immediately came and took the samples. They were very supportive to help us get my daughter tested and get the results for us. In fact, they went out of the way to send me the result quite late in the night because they knew that I was worried.”

How it is Going

Sunita is still fighting her cancer vigorously and keeping her spirits high. Currently, she is going through targeted therapy and radiation. Going through stage 2 cancer she is under robust monitoring, especially after the diagnosis of TP53 mutation. As a last piece of advice for the people who are still on the fence about getting diagnosed or not going to the doctors, Sunita shares, “I would say it is okay to feel all the emotions that you're feeling. It's very natural and normal to feel shocked, anger, disappointment, and also fear. Because depending on your family circumstances, if you have children especially, it becomes a big worry for you. Because a cancer diagnosis, no matter what stage you are, is quite a bit of a shock. So it's okay to feel whatever emotions you are feeling. You shouldn't feel like, oh, I have to be strong, I shouldn't cry, I shouldn't speak about what I'm feeling. I think it's better to be able to speak out what you're feeling than bottle everything up. Because that helps a lot. And it's also very important to have a very strong support system around you, whether it's your family or friends.”

*Name has been changed for anonymity

One child in India dies every nine minutes from an infection caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as it becomes one of the top 10 global public health threats, experts warn.

Dr HB Veena Kumari of the Department of Neuromicrobiology, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, claims: "The Covid-19 pandemic has significantly contributed to rising antimicrobial resistance. The World Health Organisation projects that 10 million deaths will occur annually by 2025."

According to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria in the body learns to withstand and remain unaffected by the medicines (antibiotics) meant to kill them.

In such cases, doctors have to switch to different antibiotics, but these backup medicines might not work as well or might cause more side effects. Additionally, infections may also worsen over time as bacteria can become resistant to all available drugs.

Alarmingly is that these tough, drug-resistant bacteria can spread from one person to another, both in hospitals and at home.

According to Dr TS Balganesh, Gangagen Biotechnologies, nearly 36 percent of haemodialysis patients die from fatal infections, which is second only to cardiovascular diseases as a cause of death.

He tells Deccan Herald: "The risk for infective endocarditis in haemodialysis patients is approximately 18 times higher than in the general population and up to 58 percent of these episodes are caused by a bacteria named 'S aureus', with an in-hospital mortality of more than 50 percent."

What Does WHO Say?

One out of every six serious infections confirmed in labs worldwide last year could not be killed by the antibiotics meant to treat them.

Between 2018 and 2023, the problem of antibiotics failing (called resistance) got much worse. For many common types of germs, resistance went up by 5% to 15% every year. The growing inability of these essential medicines to work is a huge threat to people everywhere.

Which Antibiotics Are People Becoming Resistant To?

The WHO's latest report is the most detailed look yet at this issue. It reports on how much resistance exists across 22 different antibiotics, which include common drugs used to treat everyday illnesses. The report focused on eight common types of bacteria that cause things like:

• Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
• Stomach and intestinal infections
• Dangerous blood infections
• Gonorrhoea

Additionally, Dr Obaidur Rahman of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital has also warned that the country’s casual use of Azithromycin, sold under brand names such as Zithromax, Azee and Zmax, has worsened its effectiveness and pushed India closer to a major public health challenge.

A drug often prescribed for sore throats and upper respiratory tract infections, Dr Rahman noted that Azithromycin was once effective against Mycoplasma Pneumonia, a bacterium responsible for pneumonia in adults and children.

READ MORE: India’s New Antibiotic in 30 Years Offers Hope Against Antibacterial-Resistant Infections

However, this is no longer the case as India now shows an alarming 80 to 90 percent resistance to the drug when treating infections caused by this bacterium. A medicine that once addressed a wide range of respiratory problems is no longer reliable for many patients.

The surgeon has since urged people to avoid taking antibiotics without proper medical advice. Most seasonal respiratory infections resolve on their own, and unnecessary drugs only add to the resistance problem.

Supreme Court on Friday declared the right to menstrual health as part of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution. The court issued a slew of directions to ensure that every school provides biodegradable sanitary napkins free of cost to adolescent girls. The guidelines also ensured that schools must be equipped with functional and hygienic gender-segregated toilets. The Court directed the pan-India implementation of the Union's national policy, 'Menstrual Hygiene Policy for School-going Girls' in schools for adolescent girl children from Classes 6-12.

Read: Menopause Clinics Explained: Latest Launch By Maharashtra And Kerala Government

Supreme Court Declares Menstrual Hygiene As Part Of Right To Life: Here Are the Directions

A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan passed the following directions:

• All States/UT must ensure that every school, whether government-run or privately managed, in both urban and rural areas, is provided with functional gender segregated toilets with usable water connectivity.
• All existing or newly constructed toilets in schools shall be designed, constructed and maintained to ensure privacy and accessibility, including by catering to needs of children with disabilities.
• All school toilets must be equipped with functional washing facilities and soap and water available at all times.
• All states/UTs must ensure that every school, whether government-run or privately managed, in both urban and rural areas, provide oxo-biodegradable sanitary napkins manufactured in compliance with the ASTM D-6954 standards free of cost. Such sanitary napkins must be made readily accessible to girl students, preferably within toilet premises through sanitary napkin vending machines or, where not visible, at a designated place.
• All States/UTs must ensure that every school, whether government-run or privately managed, in both urban and rural areas establish menstrual hygiene management corners. It must be equipped with spare innerwears, uniforms, disposable pads and other necessary materials to address menstrual urgency.

The court also issued directions for the disposal of sanitary waste. Justice Pardiwala said, "This pronouncement is not just for stakeholders of the legal system. It is also meant for classrooms where girls hesitate to ask for help. It is for teachers who want to help but are restrained due to a lack of resources. And it is for parents who may not realise the impact of their silence and for society to establish its progress as a measure in how we protect the most vulnerable. We wish to communicate to every girlchild who may have become a victim of absenteeism because her body was perceived as a burden when the fault is not hers."

Read: Menstrual Cups To Replace Sanitary Napkins In Karnataka Government Schools

Why Is This Judgment So Important?

In India, menstruation is still seen as taboo. In fact, there is a lot of shame around it. Menstrual shame is the deeply internalized stigma, embarrassment, and negative perception surrounding menstruation, which causes individuals to feel unclean, or "less than" for a natural biological process. This judgment thus is an effort to do away with the shame rooted in cultural, social, and religious taboos, which is often the reason why many girls drop out, or due to lack of awareness, develop health adversities.

Most health videos on YouTube, even those made by doctors are also not reliable medical information, found a new study, published in JAMA Network Open. The researchers reviewed 309 popular YouTube videos on cancer and diabetes and found that fewer than 1 in 5 were supported by high quality scientific evidence. About two-thirds of the view had low, very low or no evidence at all to back up their health claims.

What was more concerning is that weaker evidence often attracted more viewer than those backed with strong science. The study looked at videos which had at least 10,000 views. The lead author of the study Dr EunKyo Kang of South Korea's National Cancer Center, said, "This reveals a substantial credibility-evidence gap in medical content videos, where physician authority frequently legitimizes claims lacking robust empirical support."

"Our findings underscore the necessity for evidence-based content-creation guidelines, enhanced science communication training for health care professionals, and algorithmic reforms prioritizing scientific rigor alongside engagement metrics," Kang added in a news release.

How Was The Study Conducted?

The researchers reviewed videos from June 20 and 21, 2025, focusing on cancer and diabetes content. 75 per cent of them were made by physicians. The videos had a median count of 164,000 views and a median length of 19 minutes.

Researchers also developed a scoring system, called E-GRADE to rate the strength of science backed evidence in each video's claim.

This is how the grading system worked:

• GRADE A: high quality evidence
• GRADE B: standard quality evidence
• GRADE C: low quality evidence
• GRADE D: very low or no evidence

What Were The Results Of The Medical Videos?

• GRADE A: 19.7%
• GRABE B: 14.6%
• GRADE C: 3.2%
• GRADE D: 62.5%

The study also found that videos with the weakest evidence were 35% more likely to get higher views than videos with strong scientific evidence.

Richard Saver, a professor of law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill noted that this issue is not just limited to YouTube. "Physician-spread misinformation is a long-standing problem, dating back well before the internet era," he wrote in an accompanying editorial.

Saver said some doctors continue to lean on personal experience rather than solid data, despite evidence-based medicine being regarded as the gold standard. He noted that EBM can feel like it downplays individual clinical judgment. Still, Saver stressed that more research is needed, adding that the study underscores the importance of examining the evidence behind health professionals’ claims on social media.

How Health And Me Has Helped With Medical Facts

Health and Me has always stayed a step ahead from medical misinformation and ensured that its readers too consume correct information. Health and Me's Fact Check series have consistently ran checks on bizarre medical claims, whether it is about a magical potion for weight loss, fake health news, or un-scientific remedies.

Fact Check By Health And Me:

• Fact Check: Does Circumcision Really Cause Autism As Claimed By RFK Jr.?
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• Fact Check: Is The COVID-19 'Lab Leak' Theory Correct?
• Fact Check: Are Fewer Childhood Vaccines Really “A Better Thing” Under the New CDC Guidelines?
• Fact Check: Is Weight Lifting Safe for Teens? An Expert Explains the Risks and Safer Alternatives
• Fact Check: Do Heart Attacks Peak in the Early Morning? Here’s What a Doctor Says
• Fact Check: Does Ja Morant Have Lung Cancer?
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