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Cancer mortality

Scale up curative, preventive measures

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India’S cancer burden is rising; the mortality rate for the dreaded disease is also going northwards. The Centre informed the Lok Sabha on Thursday that of the 14.61 lakh cases of cancer detected in 2022 — 35,000 more than in the previous year — 8.08 lakh patients died as compared to 7.89 lakh in 2021. This calls for better curative, palliative and preventive measures and strengthening of cancer care infrastructure.

Another cause for concern is that the mortality-to-incidence ratio for cancer in India is among the highest in the world. The finding of a 2022 FICCI-EY study is even more alarming: the actual incidence of cancer could be two to three times higher than the official figures. Stressing the need for more and better hospitals equipped with oncologists and state-of-the-art machinery, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya presented a worrisome prognosis in the Lok Sabha last December: cancer prevalence in the country is slated for an increase by 12.8 per cent.

At the heart of the problem is the lack of easy access to specialist hospitals for timely detection of the disease and affordable treatment. With a large proportion of the cancer victims unable to afford quality care, the government would do well to speed up work on the promised 19 state cancer institutes and 20 tertiary care centres. The public healthcare system is overburdened, while treatment in private hospitals is extremely costly. In this scenario, it is equally crucial to focus on campaigns aimed at raising public awareness about cancer detection and prevention. The risk factors listed by experts include tobacco and alcohol consumption, obesity, malnutrition and a sedentary lifestyle. Processed and packaged food that contains preservatives is also being linked to cancer. Practising healthy habits is the key to keeping the disease at bay.

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