30 lakh people in India suffer from Cancer

Panchkula: To create awareness on “World Cancer Day & Rising Trends of Cancer in North India”, a team of doctors from Paras Super Specialty Hospital Panchkula addressed the mediapersons, here today and threw light on extremely significant aspects of this deadly disease. On the occasion, prominent among others present from Paras Hospitals Panchkula, include Director Medical Oncology Dr. Brig Rajeshwar Singh, Senior Consultant Surgical Oncology Dr. Rajan Sahu, Consultant Medical Oncology Dr. Deepak Singla, Consultant Radiation Oncology Dr. Parneet Singh, Associate Consultant Ortho Oncology Dr. Jagandeep Singh and Consultant Nuclear Medicine Dr. Anupam Gauba.   
 
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Rajeshwar apprised that 30 lakh people in India suffer from Cancer adding that Cancer claims five lakh lives in India annually. He further said that Breast and Cervical Cancer are the most common types of Cancer in females, whereas Oral, Lung and Liver Cancer are most common among male population in India. A few decades back, Breast Cancer used to occur only after fifty years of age and the number of young women suffering from this disease was very less. “Almost 65 per cent to 70 per cent patients were above 50 years and only 30 per cent to 35 per cent women were below fifty years of age. However, unfortunately, Breast Cancer is presently more common in the younger age group with 50 per cent of all cases in the age group of 25 to 50 years. More than 70 per cent of the cases present are at an advanced stage, accounting for poor survival and high mortality rate”, said Dr. Rajeshwar.
 
Interacting with the mediapersons, Dr. Sahu shared that India continues to report the highest prevalence of Oral Cancer globally with 75,000 to 80,000 new cases of such Cancer being reported every year. “Chewing tobacco and Gutka contribute to 90 per cent of Oral Cancer cases in the country. One third of the Cancer cases can be prevented by having a modified lifestyle. Top five most diagnosed Cancer for men are: Lung, Oral, Colorectal, Stomach and Esophageal and the top five most diagnosed Cancer for women are: Breast, Colorectal, Lung, Cervix and Stomach”, he said, while adding that Breast Self-examination and Mammography is a Novel Technique to detect Breast Cancer cases at an early stage and simple medical investigations like Chest X-Ray and PSA can help in diagnosing Lung Cancer and Prostate Cancer during early stages.
 
Sharing his experience, Dr. Singla said that in India Breast Cancer has overtaken Cervical Cancer as the most common and deadly killer disease. “At Paras, we offer Tumor Board Based approach as best treatment to our Patients and all types of advanced Chemotherapy, Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapies are available to our parents at our Hospital”, he informed.
 
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Parneet said the number of new cases of Cancer are expected to rise by about 70 per cent over the next two decades. He further added, “Radiation Therapy involves subjecting the body to high energy X-Rays in order to kill the Cancer cells and disrupting their ability to grow and divide without having untoward side effects on adjoining normal organs.”
 
Dr. Jagandeep said that nowadays, there has been a new branch of Ortho Onco Surgery at Paras Hospitals Panchkula, which deals with all type of Bone Tumors and Sarcomas and Limb preservation surgeries, which can be carried out in almost 90 per cent of cases of Bone Cancer. He further said that with newer modalities available for reconstruction, patients with bone Cancer can not only be treated with Limb preservation but can also expect good functioning of affected limb post surgery.
 
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Gauba said that within a small time span they have already done over 500 PET Scans at Paras.  “PET Scan can help find out presence on Cancer, evaluate the extent of Cancer and help in making out a plan for possible course of treatment response. Further, it can also be used for early detection of recurrent disease”, he asserted.  
  
Faculty Director, Paras Hospital Panchkula  Ashish Chadha said that they have got the biggest and comprehensive Cancer Center, which has immensely benefited the patients from Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Kaithal, Solan, Shimla and Chandigarh. “Also, Paras Hospital Panchkula is now empanelled with Haryana and Himachal Government, CGHS and all Major TPAs and Corporates, for all types of Cancer treatment”, he concluded.