Mumbai, Oct 31 (IANS): Over 1,000 healthcare workers and doctors participated in a mass breast cancer awareness drive organised by a city based hospital.

The drive was organised on Friday following studies that stated that breast cancer was rising more rapidly than cervical cancer among Indian women, eapecially young women including teenagers.

Analysis by the Indian Council of Medical Research showed that 10 out of every 100,000 women living in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 compared to 23 for every 100,000 women in 2015.

Medical experts have also said that the incidence of breast cancer has overtaken cervical cancer, cited as the most frequent cancer in Indian women.

"It has been recognised for years that the combination of early diagnosis and effective treatment has resulted in significant improvement in the overall cure rate for patients with breast cancer," said Meghal Sanghvi, consultant oncology surgeon at Wockhardt Hospital.

"Through such awareness campaign, we would like to encourage early testing for quicker diagnosis. Treatment parameters change upon diagnosis, which leads to better prognosis in the long run," said Sanghvi, who organised the event.