THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The door-to-door survey by the health department has identified over 1.5 lakh suspected cancer patients in the state so far. Of them, over 1.3 lakh have been referred for breast cancer, over 21,000 for cervical cancer and close to 8,000 for oral cancer screening. The numbers assume significance as the survey has covered just over 13% of the target population of 1.6 crore people aged above 30.
The initial survey is used as a pointer to identify people having chances of developing cancer and other lifestyle diseases, including diabetes and heart diseases. The actual number of people with the diseases confirmed could be lower. Yet, health experts term it as an important discovery that helps reduce the disease burden. Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women while cervical cancer has a high death rate due to the delay in detection.
It is known that the state has a large number of morbid patients. The effect of it was felt during Covid when several people had an extended stay in hospitals and some of them died. The health department started the survey on December 7 last year to assess the level of non-communicable diseases and make early interventions to control them.
“A large proportion of people do not know if they have diabetes, hypertension or preliminary symptoms of cancer as they have not been tested earlier. The survey helps find such patients early,” said Dr Bipin K Gopal, state nodal officer for non-communicable diseases and the state coordinator of District Cancer Control Programme.
The survey focused on three types of cancers: Breast, cervix and mouth. The surveyor identifies a person for screening if she says yes to symptoms such as a lump in breast and bleeding during intercourse. For oral cancer, the question is on the presence of white marks in the mouth. However, sending a patient for cancer screening does not mean the disease has been confirmed.
Screening: Can’t afford to miss single cancer case, says doctor
“If the person is found to have any of the cancer symptoms listed, they are sent for screening because we cannot afford to miss even a single case. If detected, these cancers can be treated well,” said Dr Gopal. In the case of other lifestyle diseases, only persons with the community-based assessment checklist score of four or more are considered for screening.
The survey in a locality is carried out by an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA), a community health worker. The screening is carried out at the nearest public health centre. The doctors then refer selected patients to other hospitals for conducting confirmation tests. The department plans to release the results of final confirmation by October.
The department plans to conduct the survey every year to follow up on the health of people aged above 30. The E-Health project is developing a cancer registry with a focus to increase outcomes by 2030.
“The survey will help the state to formulate better health policies. The information from the survey can be used in procurement and distribution of medicines. If the prevalence of NCD is high in a particular area, community-level interventions can be adopted,” said Dr B Krishnakumar, professor of the department of cardiology, Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital.