KOCHI: The year gone by will remain a dark phase in the collective memory of mankind for quite sometime. The pandemic’s direct and indirect impact across the globe has shattered lives and futures broken. Through hitherto unfamiliar restrictions and constraints in access to specialists and experts, necessitated due to lockdowns and requirements of social distancing, cancer patients have been largely at the receiving end of the stick. Apprehensions about visiting hospitals for timely checkups have also resulted in cancer being detected very late in some patients.
Experts say mortality due to late detection is likely to go up this year due to the Covid scenario. “During the initial phase of the pandemic spread in the state, there was anxiety and reluctance among people to visit hospitals and undergo treatment. Rather than cancer patients not turning up for further treatment, those who were reluctant to see a doctor with discomfort was the most serious issue. Due to which early detection was not possible. A day’s or a week’s delay in diagnosing cancer can cause serious trouble for the patient. It makes a lot of difference as well,” said Ashok S Komaranchath, consultant medical oncologist, Aster Medcity.
He added that there were instances in which some patients have turned up with tumours which were just a small lump at the beginning and that have turned into a large size. Be it Covid or any outbreak, treatment for some patients including cancer patients cannot be set aside. Taking necessary precautions and following Covid protocol strictly cancer patients will have to fight it.
“Avoiding public and social gatherings, maintaining social distancing, wearing a face shield while interacting with visitors at homes are some of the precautions to be strictly followed,” said Ashok. In Kerala, the most common type of cancer in women is breast cancer while colon and oral cancer are the rising concern for men. The need to strengthen cancer screening programmes in the state and adopting community- based awareness camps become more relevant.
According to a recent study conducted by Caritas India, an NGO, 20.5 per cent of women were diagnosed with breast cancer, 17 per cent with esophageal cancer, 9.9 per cent wi th cervical cancer, 8.3 percent with leukaemia and 6.6 per cent with lung cancer. The survey was conducted in 14 districts in which over 3,000 peopl e participated.
“The study also revealed that over 40 per cent of women in the state are not conducting any self-examination to detect any signs of lumps or discomfort. Though there is awareness, the behavioural pattern of people does not change.
Therefore, there should be community- level camps and awareness. It should be a joint effort from all the civic institutions and government,” said Fr Paul Moojely, executive director, Caritas India. As per the National Cancer Registry programme 2020, 9 per cent of the deaths in India are due to cancer. According to the report, in Kerala, thyroid cases are high in Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam districts.
“Though many programmes were conducted jointly by the government associated with the local bodies to identify and treat the cancer at early stages, due to Covid the pace of those have gone down. This year the incidence of cancer and the mortality rate are likely to rise due to late detection,” said Dr Moni Kuriakose, director, Cochin Cancer Research Centre.
More questions than answers
According to a recent study conducted by NGO Caritas India found that 20.5 per cent ofwomen suffered from breast cancer, 17 per cent has esophageal cancer, 9.9 per cent were afflicted with cervical cancer, 8.3 per cent suffered from leukaemia and 6.6 per cent have lung cancer. Over 3,000 respondents participated in the survey conducted in 14 districts. Nine per cent of the deaths in India are due to cancer