Cancer is a malignant growth or tumour resulting from an uncontrolled division of cells. It can start at any place in the body. It starts when cells grow out of control and crowd out normal cells. This makes it hard for the body to work the way it should.
Cancer can affect all living cells in the body, at all ages and in both genders. The causation is multi factorial and the disease process differs at different sites.
It is known that over one-third of cancers are preventable, and one-third potentially curable provided they are diagnosed early in their course. The control of cancer requires the effective implementation of knowledge with awareness.
Some facts, risks and preventions about cancer:
- There are 2-2.5 million cases of Cancer Prevalent in India at any point in time.
- 7-9 lac cancers are detected each year in India- on an average 8-10 cancers are detected daily.
- Cancers are the 2nd leading cause of death in India that is likely to double by 2015 and triple by 2030.
- More than 2/3rd of cancer cases are related to life style factors, hence preventable.
- More than 1/3rd cancers (2 out of every 5) are tobacco related and other due to faulty diet habits and social habits.
- The unhealthy lifestyle that increases the risk of cancer is tobacco consumption (cigarette smoking, chewing tobacco etc.) increased consumption of animal fats & oils, sedentary life style, obesity, alcohol consumption and exposure to toxic chemicals.
- The early the cancer is detected the better is the cure rate and prognosis.
- Most of the cancers are silent for long time and give no initial warning.
- Once cancer produces evident symptoms and signs, it is already in advanced stage and usually difficult to treat.
Being aware about Cancer is the need of the hour. In majority of the cases, cancer is detected in the advanced stage. Treatment of any cancer in advanced stage is difficult, prolonged and expensive. Treatment results in India are about 20% less than what is observed for similar conditions in more developed countries, mostly due to late diagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Sadly, 2/3rds of the cancers are detected in the advanced stage.
Get yourself checked by a doctor if you have any of these symptoms:
- Change in bowel or bladder habits
- A wound that doesn’t heal
- Unusual bleeding or discharge from any natural orifice or weight loss
- Thickening or lump in breast or elsewhere
- Ingestion difficulty in swallowing
- Obvious change in wart or mole
- Nagging cough or hoarseness of the voice
How can we help raise awareness about Cancer?
- Make healthy food choices.Cancer risk can be reduced by following a fresh healthy plant based diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes. Consumption of salty, fatty and processed food items.
- Say No to Tobacco. Tobacco chewing or consumption of cigarettes drastically increases your chance of developing cancer. While chewing tobacco causes oral and pancreatic cancer,smoking causes cancer of the lungs, bladder, cervix and kidneys.
- Make a conscious effort to reduce your sugar intake. Experts believe that sugar is a major cancer fuel Cancer cellsderive their power from sugar hence the risk of this deadly disease can be minimized drastically by cutting down your sugar intake.
- Always safeguard yourself before stepping out in the sun. Exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays can damage your skin and eyes. Always wear a sunscreen and sunglasses to protect yourself.
- Research suggests that approximately 30 minutes of physical activity on a daily basis can decrease your cancer risk.
- Water is the true elixir. Always keep yourself hydrated as it helps to flush out toxins through urine.
- Try to limit your use of Mobile phones as excessive radiations damage the nerves in your brain.
Meet our team of doctors at Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital for any cancer related queries. Our Centre for Cancer is equipped to handle all kinds of cases at various stages. The centre has sub-specialists proficient in dealing with different types of cancers. For further details please visit below link:
https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/centresofexcellence/centrefor_cancer.html
