MADURAI: Senior oncologists and doctors of the Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre (MMHRC) in Madurai have today cautioned, alerted and explained about the rising incidence of cancer cases in India at a press conference held here in connection with World Cancer Day today, 4th February 2020.
“The cancer incidence rate (new cases registered every year) in India is close to 110 per 1 lakh population. But studies project that it could increase by two times in the next two decades mainly due to the prevalence of adverse lifestyle factors such as smoking, increased body weight and alcoholism,” said medical experts of MMHRC. They, however, added that the success rate of modern medical treatments for many types of cancer can be as high as 90% when there is early detection.
Addressing a press conference today, Dr. Ramesh Ardhanari, Medical Director, Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre, Madurai said that cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide. The mortality rate of this malice in India is 80 per one lakh deaths, which is about 8% of the total deaths. In India, the top five types of cancer are the cancers of lip/oral cavity, lung, stomach, colorectal, and esophagus for men, and the cancers of breast, lip/oral, cervix, lung, and gastric for women.
I AM AND I WILL:
He said that the theme for 2020, “I am and I will”, emphasizes the need for every individual to contribute to reducing the cancer burden in the country..
Dr. K. S. Kirushnakumar, HOD, Oncology, Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Madurai, said that there are 2.25 million cancer patients in India. “Though there are about 200 different types of cancer, most common among men in India are cancers of head, neck, esophagus, and among women are cancers of cervix and breast. 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,” he added.
Excess body weight, physical inactivity, smoking, alcoholism are some of the known risk factors. Regular exercise, diet rich in unprocessed cereals, fruits and vegetables help reduce the risk of cancer, he informed.
EARLY DETECTION:
Talking about the importance of early detection and modern treatment, Dr. Krishnakumar Rathnam, Senior Consultant, Medical Oncology of the hospital, said that globally, the survival rate in high income countries is far better than that of low or middle income countries. Cancer kills close to 9 million people every year across the world but over two thirds of them are in low-and-middle income countries. In India every year ocer 10 lakh people are diagnosed with cancer but almost 70% of them die because people seek medical support only after the disease advances to the terminal stage.
Dr. R Vijaya Bhaskar, Senior Consultant, Surgical Oncology, has said that cancer deaths are falling as medical science makes significant inroads into cancer treatment. Dr. P Ananda Selvakumar, Senior Consultant, Radiation Oncology, and Dr. Hari Shankar, Consultant, Nuclear Medicine also spoke.
