Care For Cancer, Care For Life

With tremendous increase in cancer patients and limited cancer specialists, this specialized domain is witnessing a huge demand...

- Jasleen Kaur Taneja

The recent death of Bollywood actor Vinod Khanna, after a prolonged battle with bladder cancer, once again highlights how the killer disease is spreading in India, sparing neither the rich nor the poor. Cancer, characterized by out-of-control cell growth is the second most common cause of death in the US. In India, a study by National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research (NICPR) states that over seven lakh new cancer patients are registered every year. According to Dr. Pramod Kumar Julka, Senior Director, Max Institute of Cancer Care, Delhi, the number of cancer cases registered rose to 14.5 lakh last year. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has urged the Government of India to make cancer a notifiable disease. The good news is that, though fatal, this disease is curable if the symptoms are detected on time.

Oncology as a specialization

The study of cancer is called oncology and those specialising in this domain are known as oncologists. “Oncology has three types of sub-specializations surgical oncology, medical oncology and radiation oncology. A medical oncologist mainly treats blood cancer or treat with medicines. They provide systemic therapies such as chemotherapy. A surgical oncologist removes the affected area through surgery and a radiation oncologist treats with radiotherapy wherever it is indicated,” explains Dr. Rupinder Bhargava, Surgical Oncologist, Minimal Invasive Oncosurgeon, who runs Bhargava Advanced Gyne Surgery Cancer Centre in Jalandhar.