P. A. Chacko SJ
The primary goal of the National Cancer awareness Day is to essentially reduce illness and death caused by cancer and is an opportunity to rally the national community, NGOs and medical fraternity to end the curse of preventable suffering from cancer.
Aggressive marketing of adulterants in foods and drinks, tobacco use, smoking , unprotected and exposed food items in markets, spurious and substandard medicines, use of chemical fertilizers, increasing environmental pollution, a lifestyle of consumption wedded to carefree life, nuclear threat, etc. could very well be some of the causes of galloping incidences of the dreadful cancer.
In 2018 the World Cancer Report stated that, according to the estimated cancer burden in India, there were about 1.16 million new cancer cases, 784,800 cancer deaths, and 2.26 million 5-year prevalent cases in India’s population of 1.35 billion.
More frightening statistics :
*One woman dies of cervical cancer every 8 minutes in India *For every 2 women, newly diagnosed with breast cancer, one woman dies of it in India.
* 2,500 persons die every day due to tobacco-related diseases in India.
*Smoking accounts for 1 in 5 deaths among men and 1 in 20 deaths among women, accounting for an estimated 9,30,000 deaths in 2010.
*Estimated number of people living with the disease: around 2.5 million.
*Every year, more new cancer patients are registered:
*Over 7 lakh Cancer r-elated deaths:
*5,56,400 deaths in the age group between 30-69 years:
Men: 2,00,100.
Women: 1,95,300.
Cancers of oral cavity and lungs in males and cervix and breast in females account for over 50% of all cancer deaths in India.
The top five cancers in men and women account for 47.2% of all cancers; these cancers can be prevented, screened for and/or detected early and treated at an early stage. This could significantly reduce the death rate from these cancers.
Imperative:
Anti-pollution measures, vigilance in use of fertilizers, food items, regularity of life style, no to bombs and nuclear explosions, no to war, and the like.