DNA Edit: Cancer epidemic – India’s healthcare system needs to meet the challenge

The growing incidence of cancer cases in the country — around 12 lakh cases were reported in this year alone — is a matter of grave concern. Six years ago, there were 10 lakh cases. The India-specific data from Global Cancer Observatory (Globocan), 2018, also point to an increase in mortality figures —  12.1 per cent jump in the number of cancer-related deaths. If one goes by 2012 figures, the emperor of maladies had claimed seven lakh lives while the figures for this year show an increase of 80,000. The spike in lip and oral cavity cancer, which registered an increase of 114.2 per cent since 2012, and breast cancer cases (a 10.7 per cent rise) has caught the attention of cancer specialists. Tobacco continues to be the biggest killer while chewing tobacco poses a formidable challenge to India’s healthcare system. Consider this: 200 million people use chewing tobacco in India, which kills about 3,50,000 Indians every year. 

Cancer’s huge economic burden on India cannot be overstated. Treatment for about 40 per cent of cancer hospitalisation cases is financed mainly through borrowings, sale of assets and contributions from friends and relatives. Also, over 60 per cent of the households who seek care from the private sector incur out of pocket expenditure in excess of 20 per cent of their annual per capita household expenditure. While cancer awareness has grown in the cities, the rural-urban divide in terms of awareness and medical treatment is huge. Cancer mortality in India is projected to increase to over 900,000 deaths by the end of this decade. It is a rich person’s disease given the treatment costs. Also, the number of medical facilities for cancer treatment even in metros cannot keep up with the surge in cases.