Cancer kills 400,000 each year, but screening for the disease yet to take off

Lack of trained manpower main hurdle, says health secretary

Published on:

18 Nov 2011, 11:47 am

More than a year after rolling out the national programme for prevention and control of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and stroke, the Union Ministry of health and family welfare is still struggling to kick-start cancer screening in the district hospitals in the country.

Health secretary P K Pradhan says lack of trained manpower is the biggest hurdle in starting the screening for different types of cancers, which is required under the programme.

“Screening for cancer will be done at district level. We are facing problems of shortage of trained manpower at these hospitals,” he says.

If detected early, most of the cancer cases are curable, say doctors. This is the reason why screening is included in the national programme so that the disease is diagnosed early and patients can start treatment at the earliest. “Chances of curing cancer cases if detected early is 80 per cent,” says G K Rath, professor and head, department of radiation oncology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

Cancer cases set to rise

Each year, India adds 980,000 cancer cases
By 2016 this figure will increase to over 1.2 million when an estimated 631,899 women and 587,750 men will suffer from different kinds of cancers
Breast cancer will affect 140,000 women by 2016 as against 89,914 in 2001
Cancer of the cervix will affect over 125,000 women as against 79,827 in 2001
Cancer of the pharynx and larynx would affect 75,901 men in 2016 as against 49,331 in 2001
Oral cancer is projected to affect 65,205 men by 2016 as against 42,725 in 2001
At present, Aizawl district of Mizoram has the maximum number of cancer cases in the country at 249.5 per 100,000 in males and 210 per 100,000 in females.