New Delhi, Sep 19 (IANS) Preventive care would prove to be the best medicine for cancer in India, experts believe.
‘Preventive oncology is the treatment India needs for curbing cancer because over 55 percent of cancers are preventive,’ Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital’s chief G.K. Rath told IANS.
‘Nearly 80 percent of cancers are detected in the third and fourth stages. So the treatment has to be early as delay by even a single stage can cost you life,’ he added.
Speaking at a seminar marking 20 years of Cancer Sahyog, an organisation working for the welfare of cancer patients, the panelists spoke on the issue of preventive oncology.
‘When we talk of preventive care, we mean the role that society plays in healing. We also need to have screening centres and awareness at remote level to control the disease,’ said panelist Ajay Dewan, director of Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre.
The panel also included nutritionist Shikha Sharma and A.K. Vaid, of the Medanta Medicity hospital, among others.
It is estimated there are 12 million people affected by cancer in India, with tobacco being the leading cause of the disease.
