RST Cancer Hospital organises “Survivor Meet” 

The month of June is identified as Cancer Survivors Month and Rashtra Sant Tukdoji Cancer Hospital and Research Centre celebrated National cancer survivors day recently. On this day 12 cancer survivors were felicitated on this occasion.  

As per study published in Lancet, nearly 70 per cent cancer patients die in India. This ratio indicates that fewer than 30 percent of Indian patients with cancer survive five years or longer after diagnosis.

The number of Indians suffering from cancer is projected to increase to 29.8 million in 2025 from 26.7 million in 2021.

According to a report by the Indian Council for Medical Research on the ‘Burden of cancers in India’, seven cancers accounted for more than 40% of the total disease burden: lung (10.6%), breast (10.5%), esophagus (5.8%), mouth (5.7%), stomach (5.2%), liver (4.6%) and cervix uteri (4.3%).

Dr. Prashant Mathur, Director of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) estimates that there will be a 12 percent rise in cancer cases in India by the next five years. The most common forms of cancer affecting the people of India are breast cancer, cervical cancer and oral cancer.

The projected incidence of patients with cancer in India among males was 679,421(94.1 per 100,000) among females 712,758 (103.6 per 100,000) for the year 2020. One in 68 males (lung cancer). One in 29 females (breast cancer), and 1 in 9 Indians will develop cancer during their lifetime. India ranks third among nations in terms of highest number of cancers. Over 13 lakh people in India suffer from cancer every year, as per the National Cancer Registry Program report.

“Sedentary lifestyles, increase in urban pollution, in addition to rise in obesity, tobacco and alcohol consumption, are said to be the reasons behind the rise.” Said Dr. Kartar Singh, Director of RSTRCH, Nagpur.

According to our HBCR department, total cancer cases of 3 year (2018, 2019, 2020) diagnosed in RST Cancer Hospital is 14439. Nearly 68% (9818.52) are Death rate and 32% (4620.48) are Survivors rate of RSTRCH.

Dr. Sharma, Head and Neck Oncologist of RSTRCH, Nagpur said “Nearly 60% of the oral cancer cases used to survive for more than 5 years after treatment. This has gone up to 90% if detected early at stage 1 or stage 2.”

“National Cancer Survivors Day” is a call to action for people around the world to stand with the cancer survivors in their community and make a commitment to address the challenges of cancer survivorship. It’s a day to advocate for further research, more resources, and increased public awareness to improve cancer survivors quality of life.”

Dr. Krushna Sirmanwar, Additional Director of RSTRCH, Nagpur said “It is also a day to celebrate. Cancer mortality rates continue to decline, and Cancer survivors are living longer than ever before. While we know there’s more work to do, the Foundation wants to set aside this one day for cancer survivors to celebrate life. It can be complicated and chaotic at times. But life after cancer can also be beautiful, meaningful, and triumphant. And that is something to celebrate.”