What is Cancer?
Body cells being to grow and reproduce in an uncontrolled manner, which in turn invade normal healthy tissue and destroy them, causing damage. Cancers in India show a similar pattern where uncontrolled cell growth leads to severe health issues.
When these cells invade blood and lymph vessels, they travel to invade other organs, where they begin to grow and form new tumours, commonly known as metastasis. Thus, cancer is a broad name given to related diseases, including various cancers in India.
Most common cancers in Men are Lung Cancer, followed by oral cancer.
In Women, most common is cervical cancer followed by breast cancer. These together account for over 50% of all cancer deaths in India.
Cancers broadly fall in the following categories:
- Leukaemia Cancers originating from the blood forming tissue such as bone marrow
- Carcinoma Cancers originating in the skin or in tissues that line internal organs
- Sarcoma Originating from bone, cartilage, connective tissue, muscles and fat.
- Lymphoma Originating in the cells of the immune system
Cancers of oral cavity and lungs in males and cervix and breast in females account for over 50% of all cancer deaths in India. The variety and prevalence of these cancers in India highlight the need for awareness and early diagnosis.
Statistics of cancer incidence in India
- One woman dies of cervical cancer every 8 minutes in India.
- For every 2 women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, one woman dies of it in India.
- As many as 2,500 persons die every day due to tobacco-related diseases in India. This significantly contributes to the overall numbers of cancers in India.
- Smoking accounts for 1 in 5 deaths among men and 1 in 20 deaths among women, accounting for an estimated 9,30,000 deaths in 2010.
