Over 14 lakh people suffer from cancer in India: Report

KANPUR: The health department will observe World Cancer Day on Saturday. Its theme is ‘Close the care gap’ which is about understanding the inequities in cancer care and taking actions to make necessary progress to address them. Mahesh Kumar, nodal officer of non-communicable diseases said, “Cancer awareness is important. We have to change our food habits. Smoking has to be avoided. Throat and mouth cancers have also increased due to tobacco consumption”. According to the report presented by the National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) in 2022, about 14.61 lakh people are suffering from cancer in India. One in every 9 women and men in India is at the risk of cancer. According to the report of Cancer Statistics, 63 percent of deaths in India are due to non-communicable diseases and cancer is responsible for 9 percent of such deaths. “Cancer is usually detected when it is in the third or the fourth stage. If people are aware, it can be prevented from spreading at the first stage itself”, the nodal officer said. TNN