Last year in December, around two crore people were screened as part of an oral cancer detection programme in Maharashtra. Of these, 2.6 lakh people were detected and they were referred to district hospitals for further investigation.
Dr Sadhana Tayade, Joint Director of Health (non-communicable diseases), Maharashtra, said that it is not necessary that these people have cancer but they identified at least 2.6 lakh such people with these conditions, of which 490 have been diagnosed with oral cancer. In the second phase of the campaign, 1,778 patients underwent biopsy and other lab tests to confirm malignancy. She added around 504 patients are undergoing treatment for oral cancer.
Also Read: Till July, 93,783 Children Have Been Diagnosed With Severe Acute Malnutrition In Maharashtra
She further added that they noticed a lack of awareness in rural areas but the campaign generated awareness and many people came forward for a check-up.
Experts at Tata Memorial Hospital believe several factors like increase in population, longevity, lack of physical activity and urbanisation of rural areas, likely to double the number of cancer cases by 2030.
Share
Tweet
