Lifestyle-related cancers top the chart in the northeast region.
This has an overall high incidence of cancer in India.
What is the status of cancer in north east?
A recent report was compiled by the National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
Nearly 4% of the cancer cases detected in Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) are in patients from the northeast.
It shows Oesophageal cancer is the highest in men followed by cancers of the lung and stomach.
It also analyses a total of 37,448 cancer cases reported from 11 population-based cancer registries in the States of the northeast from 2012 to 2014.
Together, they form 33.5% of all cancers in the northeast among men.
In women, breast cancer is the highest followed by cervix and oesophageal cancer (33.8%).
What are the reasons of the complications?
A feature that stands out in Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura is excessive tobacco consumption.
People in the region are also very addicted to raw betel nut and its fermented variety.
Both tobacco and betel nuts are known carcinogenic substances.
Oesophageal cancer is also linked to consuming extremely hot beverages.
People who gulped down very hot tea (simmering temperature) were four times more prone to oesophageal cancer.
There are certain dietary habits that definitely play a role in the increased incidence of cancer in the region.
The genetic variations as a result of there being a large number of ethnic groups are also a contributing factor.
Stomach cancer is linked to H. pylori bacteria infection that happens due to contaminated food and water, obesity, and a diet consisting of salty or smoked foods.
Breast cancer too is linked with obesity and late pregnancies among other risk factors.
In cervical cancer, the most important risk factor is a Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection that is mainly transmitted through sexual intercourse.
Multiple sex partners (polyandries and polygamies societies are prevalent in North east region), a lack of hygiene and smoking are some factors linked to the spread of cervical cancers.
What are the challenges patients are facing?
Most cancer patients have to travel outside the northeast for treatment and care due to an inadequate number of cancer facilities.
There are only about eight centres that offer various types of cancer care such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy and most of them are in Assam.
Cancer cannot be treated from afar as therapy is a prolonged one.
Travelling in the region is not easy due to the difficult terrain and this results in a low compliance of treatment.
