National Cancer Awareness Day 2019: Why early-stage cancer detection is important?
November 7 is every year celebrated as ‘National Cancer Awareness’ Day. National Cancer Awareness Day was announced by Health Minister Dr. HarshVardhan in the year 2014. Cancer cases in India are alarming. According to the National Cancer Registry program of India Council of Medical Research, more than 1300 Indians die every year due to cancer. Notably, cancer case in India increased by 6 percent between 2012- 2014.
As per the recent report by ICMR, the cancer burden has doubled over the last 26 years. It is the highest increase in all therapy areas, with breast cancer the most common in Indian women. Notably, the government has listed four priority cancers:
1. Breast Cancer
2. Cervical Cancer
3. Oral Cancer
4. Lung cancer
The report said that Oral Cancer is among the top three cancers in India, number one among men and number three among women. Shockingly, most of the cancers are detected at a later stage and it has become a major problem in India.
Here are 7 warning signs of Cancer that you should not miss:
1. A change in bowel and bladder habits
2. A sore throat that never heals
3. Unusual bleeding or discharge from any opening of the body
4. Difficulty in swallowing or chronic indigestion
5. Unexplained lumps in the body
6. Weight Loss and loss of appetite
7. A nagging cough or persistent hoarseness of voice
Read more: The causes, types and treatment of Male Breast Cancer
Conclusion
To tackle the problem of late diagnosis, many companies have come up with new screening devices in recent years. Notably, they employ different technologies, ranging from artificial intelligence and machine learning to thermal imaging and immunoassays. But they all are working towards the same aim to make screening more affordable and accessible to women in the country so that lives can be saved.
