WORLD CANCER DAY - Fighting to get cured out

By M H Ahssan

Cancer taking a vice-like grip on Indians

As the world wakes up today to World Cancer Day, cancer specialists are warning that more young people in the city are contracting deadly disease then ever before forming a significant part of around 3000 new cases of cancer presented here every year. With incidence of cancer rising all over the developing world, ICMR estimates say that one in every 10 Indians is likely to develop cancer by 2010.

Oncologists in the city say they are facing more cases of patients aged between 25 to 30 years, than they ever did. As medical reports hold rising pollution and exposure to ultra violet radiation responsible for a majority of cancer cases, urban India is falling prey to its own lifestyle, they say.

Rising incidence of cancer is only to be expected when people do not stop chewing tobacco or stop smoking. “It is a myth that smoking leads to only lung cancer, it can lead to cancer in any tissue or organ in the body,” says Dr Ch Mohana Vamsi director and chief surgical oncologist, Indo-American Cancer Institute and Research Centre adding that improvements in detection methods and treatment have not kept pace with growing numbers of cancer.

Experts stress that increased consumption of junk food and passive smoking is responsible for more youngsters falling prey to cancer. Dr Vijay Anand P Reddy, director of Apollo Cancer Institute says, “The western world has learnt to live a healthy life, but not we Indians. Westerners have cut down on smoking; they walk a lot and exercise regularly. Also, they ensure that they balance a fatty non-vegetarian diet with salads and fruits in every meal, something we do not do. Our city-bred youngsters are fond of their meats, kebabs, drinking and smoking, but even non-smokers end up passive smokers at pubs and parties. Also youngsters do not eat vegetables and fruits with their meals, they do not take their exercise regularly. So it’s only natural that their cells fall prey to carcinogenic substances found in spicy, fatty smoked food.”

Dr P Raghu Ram, the director of Kims-Ushalakshmi Centre for Breast Diseases explains the case of women, “Early menarche (onset of the menstrual cycle) leads to prolonged exposure to oestrogen and thereafter to breast cancer.” Dr Reddy adds, “Lack of exercise leads to obesity and early menarche. If children get at least an hour’s physical activity every day, their hormonal growth would be healthier and we would have fewer breast cancer cases when they grow older.” Screening is critical to treatment, says Dr Raghu Ram, citing a World Health Organisation (WHO) statistic that less than 10 per cent of women in India have regular screening mammograms. As a result more than 50 per cent of breast cancers present in the advanced stage leading to a high death rate among breast cancer patients.

Screening for cancer is the best first step for patients, because several cancers are curable, if detected early. A thumb rule: if you have any illness, whether a throat infection or a sore, that persists for two to three weeks and does not respond to prescribed antibiotics, just consult a doctor and ask if cancer screening is required. It could save your life.