Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Mansukh Mandaviya informed Rajya Sabha on Tuesday that as per Indian Council of Medical Research’s Cancer Registry Data Report on “National Cancer Registry Programme Report”, the estimated number of incidences of cancer cases is increasing in the country.
Earlier this year SKIMS Soura stated that the tertiary care hospital alone received 1110 cancer cases from January 1 to March 31, 2022 which is said to be the highest in recent times.
Without a doubt, cancer has been a scourge of humankind for centuries.
As per World Health Organization, cancer is a generic term for a large group of diseases that can affect any part of the body. One defining feature of cancer is the rapid creation of abnormal cells that grow beyond their usual boundaries, and which can then invade adjoining parts of the body and spread to other organs;
Nevertheless advances in molecular cell biology and genetics in the recent past have made the disease far less intractable than the past. Early tumour detection with non-invasive imaging such as CT, MRI and PET scans has helped in discriminating between aggressive and non-malignant tumours. As per experts, scientists have taken important steps to unravel the complex linkages between individual immune systems and cancerous cells. Studies have also underlined connections between the disease, local environments, cultural practices, and individual habits. Such facets of the disease could have been difficult to model or quantify about two decades ago. But advances in computational methods and the ability to generate and share big data have made it easier to arrive at a more granular understanding of the disease.
According to the medicos, lung cancer was found prominent among men while breast cancer was seen on the rise among women
The worrisome trend happens amid changing times, pressures of a hectic life and variations in the environment.
While cancer is a multifactorial disease, the risk factors, inter alia, include ageing population, sedentary lifestyle, use of tobacco products, unhealthy diet and air pollution.
Cancers of the lung, mouth, stomach and oesophagus were the most common cancers among men. Cancers of the breast and cervix uteri were the most common cancers among women.
The experts have been calling people to focus on preventive measures to arrest the growing incidence of the disease in the Valley. It is time perhaps to focus on preventive measures and both individuals and the administration must lead.
