Cancer claims 5L lives every year in India

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Hoshiarpur, February 3

About 30 lakh people in India are suffering from cancer, of which 11 lakh are new cases. Cancer claims five lakh lives every year in India. Lung and liver cancer are the most common types of cancer in men, while breast and cervical cancer are the most common among women, said Dr Jatin Sarin, senior oncologist at Ivy Hospital.

He further said that a few decades back, breast cancer was seen only after 50 years of age and the number of young women suffering from this disease were lesser with almost 65-70 per cent patients were above 50 years and only 30 to 35 per cent women were below 50 years of age.

However, breast cancer is more common in the younger age group and 50 per cent of all cases are in the 25 to 50 years age group. More than 70 per cent of the cases present in advanced stage accounting for poor survival and high mortality, Dr Jatin maintained.

Dr Vijay Bansal, senior surgical oncologist, shared that India continues to report the highest prevalence of oral cancers globally with 75,000 to 80,000 new cases of such cancers reported every year. Chewing tobacco and gutkha contribute to 90 per cent of oral cancer cases in the country.

Dr Minakshi Mittal, senior radiation oncologist, said the number of new cases of cancer is expected to rise by about 70 per cent over the next two decades.

Dr Priyanshu Chaudhary, medical oncologist, stated: “One third of the cancers prevented by lifestyle modification. Breast self-examination and mammography is a noble technique to deduct breast cancer cases at an early stage and simple investigations like chest X-ray & PSA can help in picking up lung cancer and prostate cancer in early stages.”