India has one of the highest cancer rates in the world

Every single person I know has a loved one (either spouse, mother, father, mother-in-law, father- in-law, sister, brother, or brother-in-law, nephew, niece) who has cancer. Its frightening. How did I discover this strange phenomena? When my mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer last week. I have had an uncle who passed away from liver cancer, and my husband’s aunt and sister-in-law have also passed away because of cancer. Still, I didn’t think cancer was that common. But when my mother-in-law was diagnosed, I told a few people about it, and each and every one of them told me their stories…I talked to more people. All had a sad tale to relate.
I always knew that heart disease, diabetes and AIDS were common (and spreading) in India. India has one of the highest rates of coronary heart disease in the world, and diabetes rate is increasing dramatically amongst the affluent section of our population. As for AIDS, we are soon to get the dubious distinction of harbouring the highest number of those suffering from HIV/AIDS, if we don’t already.

Where cancer was concerned, I knew that a large proportion of our rural and semi-urban population eat tobacco and therefore our rates of oral cancer are one of the highest in the world. What I did not think was that India had an overall high cancer rate…until now.

Cancer rates in India are considerably lower than those in more developed countries such as the United States…data from population based cancer registries in India show that the most frequently reported cancer sites in males are lung, oesophagus, stomach, and larynx. In females, cancers of the cervix, breast, ovary, and oesophagus are the most commonly encountered…

In India, the incidence of breast cancer is increasing, with an estimated 80,000 new cases diagnosed annually. The incidence of breast cancer increased by approximately 50% between 1965 and 1985. Much of this increase may be associated with greater urbanization and improved life expectancy…