Hyderabad doctors renew pledge to fight Cancer

Cancer poses a major threat to public health worldwide and incidences have increased in most countries since 1990, becoming the third leading cause of death

On the World Cancer Day, doctors in Hyderabad emphasised on the urgent need for greater awareness and timely diagnosis and treatment of cancer, encouraging communities and government to work together against the killer disease. The doctors renewed their pledge to fight Cancer, which accounts for nearly seven lakh deaths in India each year.

Expressing concern on the alarming rise of cancer cases, Dr Senthil Rajappa, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Indo-American Hospital, Hyderabad said, “India is facing an epidemic of cancer. It is estimated that around one million patients are diagnosed with cancer every year in India.

Unfortunately, most of them get diagnosed at a later stage. Large number of ageing population, unhealthy lifestyles, use of tobacco and unhealthy diets are some of the factors that have triggered the increase in the number of cancer deaths. Besides making a change in our lifestyle, we also need to be more aware about the early symptoms which sometimes we often tend to ignore. It is important to educate people that cancer if detected early can be treated and cured.”

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, GLOBOCAN project has predicted that India’s cancer burden will nearly double in the next 20 years, from slightly over a million new cases currently to more than 1.7 million by 2035.

Dr Senthil said, “The cancer mortality rate in India is high, at 68 per cent of the annual incidence, which indicates that fewer than 30 per cent of Indian patients with cancer survive five years or longer after diagnosis. To lower this mortality ratio, it is imperative to spread awareness about cancer among the masses.”