For S Vijaya, a single mother from Hyderabad, 2018 was a year of memories – good and bitter. While she was happily watching over her daughter join college and son prepare for 10thgrade board exams, the wrath of fate brought everything crashing down, when she was suddenly detected with breast cancer. The next two and half years were exhausting. Vijaya underwent several sessions of chemotherapy followed by surgery. Apart from the emotional scar, cancer left her financially crippled and indebted, fighting even for the basic needs.
Diseases like cancer and diabetes are silent killers that destroy millions of families every year in India. In fact, after cardiovascular diseases, cancer takes the maximum number of lives in India. A report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) says that one person among every 15 Indians will die of cancer. According to the report, in India, the six most common cancer types are breast cancer (162,500 cases), oral cancer (120,000 cases), cervical cancer (97,000 cases), lung cancer (68,000 cases), stomach cancer (57,000 cases), and colorectal cancer (57,000).
A latest report from the National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) shows India’s cancer burden could shoot up from 1.39 million in 2020 to 1.57 million in 2025. According to the report, tobacco-related cancer is likely to account for 27.2 per cent of all cases, followed by gastrointestinal tract cancer at 19.8 per cent.
Between 2016 and 2018, cancer cases were highest in Uttar Pradesh (270053) followed by Bihar (145051), Maharashtra (144032), West Bengal (117220), Madhya Pradesh (98403), Tamil Nadu (86180) and Gujarat (80820).
This story is from the March 2021 edition of Outlook Money.
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This story is from the March 2021 edition of Outlook Money.
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