Chandigarh, February 1 – 3 million people in India are suffering from cancer, of which 11 lakh are new cases. 5 lakh people die of cancer every year in the country. Dr Jatin Sarin, Director of Medical Oncology, IVY Hospital Mohali, while talking to reporters here today said that breast and cervical cancer are most common in women, while lung and liver cancer are most common in men.

He said that a few decades ago, breast cancer was seen only after the age of fifty and the number of young women suffering from this disease was less. 70 percent of patients were over 50 years of age and only 30 to 35 percent of women were under 50 years of age. But currently breast cancer is more common at younger ages and 50 percent of all cases are between the ages of 25 and 50.

On this occasion Dr. Vijay Bansal, Senior Consultant, Surgical Oncology at IVY Hospital said that India has the highest prevalence of oral cancer in the world, 75,000 to 80,000 new cases of such cancer are reported every year. He said that tobacco and gutkha chewing contribute to 90 percent of oral cancer cases in the country. He said that nowadays most of the cancer surgeries can be done laparoscopically, due to which the patients recover quickly.

On this occasion, medical oncologist Dr. Priyanshu Chaudhary said that one third of cancers can be prevented with lifestyle changes. Breast self-examination and mammography are good techniques to detect cases of breast cancer at an early stage, and simple tests like chest X-ray and PSA can help detect lung cancer and prostate cancer at an early stage. . Radiation oncology specialist Dr Meenakshi Mittal said that the number of new cancer cases is expected to increase by about 70 per cent in the next two decades.