IEP Chandigarh, October 20
“Cancer these days has become the biggest killer after heart disease. According to the Indian Council of Medical research (ICMR), around 1300 Indians die every day due to Cancer. India register 11.6 lakh new cancer cases in 2018, according to GLOBOCAN, however, that number will hit 20 lakhs by 2040,”
Dr Priya Tewari, sr medical oncologist at Artemis Hospital, Gurugram said on Thursday that in Haryana alone, 13 lives are lost from cancer every day.
She further said that long standing use of tobacco is the main cause of cancer in the country and responsible for 40% of cancer cases in men and 20% in women.
According to the research by PGI Rohtak for the people of Haryana, especially women’s, the news is not good as the state ranks third among the top 5 states in terms of breast cancer cases, she revealed.
“In men the top 3 cancer killers were oral, stomach & lung cancer while in women they were cervical, stomach & breast cancer. She said further that numbers of cancer cases are expected to rise by 70% over next two decades in India,”
Cancer is still considered as a stigma in Indian society and women having breast cancer do not speak about it openly fearing being stigmatized by their own family and friends, she opined.
The attitude towards cancer from our society has made cancer patients invisible, preventing open discussions and creating a vicious cycle of fear and misinformation for the masses, said Dr Priya adding this is what is hindering attempts to raise awareness about avoidable cancer risk and importance of early detection.
“Also, most of the cases in our country are diagnosed very late and according to the statistics of WHO, more than 60% of the Women are diagnosed with Breast cancer at stage 3 or 4 in India. This drastically affects survival rate and treatment options for the patients. The emerging high rate of obesity among Indian women raises an alarm. For instance, 1 in every 5 women was obese, as per national family health survey conducted in 2015 to 2016,”
In Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerela, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, NCT Delhi, Chandigarh, Puducherry, over 30% of Women were obese, she informed.
Dr Priya also explained that certain habits and interventions like prolonged breastfeeding, regular physical activity, weight control, and avoiding excessive consumption of alcohol and exposure to tobacco smoke could potentially lower the risk of breast cancer.
