Cancer - The dreaded malady in India
Cancer is one of the leading causes of adult deaths worldwide. In India, around 5.55 lakh people died of cancer in 2010. This is only half of the reported deaths; the actual figures are estimated in excess of one million annually. Most deaths in India (and in most low-income or middle-income countries) occur at home and without medical attention. Thus, alternative methods to obtain information about cancer and other deaths are necessary.
The Lancet study, led by Dr Prabhat Jha, the Director of the Centre for Global Health Research at St Michael's Hospital, Toronto, in collaboration with Indian national institutions and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), used a unique method of projecting cancer deaths for the whole of India based on the patterns of cancer mortality in 2000-2003 in a sample of households.
What is alarming is that in the coming years, the absolute number of cancer deaths in India is projected to increase because of population growth and increasing life expectancy. Rates of cancer deaths are expected to rise, particularly from increases in the age-specific cancer risks of tobacco smoking, which increase the incidence of several types of cancer.
The study stated, 'tobacco-related cancers represented around 42 per cent of male and 18 per cent of female cancer deaths. In men, two of the most common fatal cancers were oral (including lip and pharynx) and lung. In women, cervical, stomach and breast cancers accounted for 41 per cent of cancer deaths in rural and urban areas. Contrary to a commonly-held perception, rates of cancer deaths were generally similar between the rural and urban areas of India. However, the cancer mortality rates varied greatly between the Indian states.
Cancer types : Oral cancer is the most fatal cancer to kill men in India. A report by The New York Times reveals that India has the world’s highest incidence of oral cancers with 75,000 to 80,000 new cases every year. About 2,000 deaths every day are related to tobacco.
Cervical cancer is the leading form of cancer that kills women in India. The latest study published in the Lancet reveals that 33,400 women died of cervical cancer in 2010, which represents 17.1 percent of the total cancer deaths in women the same year. Women who died of the disease were aged between 39 and 60. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer of the cervix is the second most common cancer in women the world over, with 5,00,000 new cases and 2,50,000 deaths each year.
Breast cancer is the third leading cause of cancer mortality among women in India. 19,900 or 10.2 percent of all cancer deaths in women in 2010 were breast cancer cases.
The age for these women was reported to be 30 to 69. The risk of developing breast cancer in women increases with age. A woman in her 60s is far more likely to develop the disease than a woman in 20s. Women with a family history of breast cancer has 2 to 3 times greater risk of developing the disease. Worldwide, 21 per cent of all breast cancer deaths occur because of alcohol use, overweight and obesity, and physical inactivity.
The Beedi risk: Tobacco related cancer due to consumption of cigarettes; beedis, paan and gutkas are a cause of most cancer deaths in India. The small hand rolled beedi produce three times more carbon monoxide and nicotine and five times more tar than regular cigarettes.
It is a widely held belief that since beedis are inexpensive alternatives for cigarettes, it must be less harmful. In reality a beedi is as lethal as a cigarette if not more.
The World Health Organisation report on Global Tobacco Epidemic (2008) reveals that beedi smokers have a three-fold higher risk of oral cancer compared with non-smokers and are also at increased risk of lung, stomach and oesophageal cancer. Moreover the cancers of oral cavity, pharynx and oesophagus, together account for 75 per cent of all tobacco related cancers. The menace of tobacco is a worldwide phenomenon, killing millions of people and affecting many more. In India itself 10 lakh people die annually because of tobacco use.