CHENNAI: When doctors assessed the 1,200 newly diagnosed colon cancer patients as part of their study, one fourth had the habit of smoking, one third alcohol consumption and the other one-third were obese, said Dr Ubal Dhus, senior consultant, Apollo Hospitals.
Speaking to the press on Friday, Dr Ubal Dhus said, the study conducted in 2021-2022 also found that people even from below the poverty line were also affected by colon cancer. This is against the belief that only affluent people will be affected by colon cancer.
Apollo Hospitals in association with the The Tamil Nadu Gastroenterologist Trust will organise ‘Colon Cancer Symposium 2025 - Colon Cancer is Preventable, curable and treatable’ on Saturday. There is a 20 % increase in colon cancer in India when compared to a decade back, and colon cancer is gradually increasing, said Dr Dhus.
Dr K R Palaniswamy, senior consultant and head, Apollo Hospitals and president of TN Gastroenterologist Trust said raising awareness on colon cancer is important, and by simply screening the stools it can be detected.
Suneeta Reddy, MD of Apollo Hospitals Group, Dr P Basumani, Consultant, Apollo Hospitals and others also spoke on the occasion.