Staff Reporter. –
In India, one in nine people are likely to develop cancer in his or her lifetime. With more than 1300 Indians dying every day due to cancer, cancer is proliferating at an alarming rate in India. The trend in West Bengal is also similar and there has been a significant rise in the number of cancer cases over the past few years. Presently, in West Bengal more than 100,000 new cancer cases are detected annually. Breast, lung, cervical, prostate and oral cancers are the most common cancers seen in West Bengal.
To address issues like limited access to cancer screening, cancer related tests and lack of awareness about common cancer, leading purpose-driven technology-led oncology platform Karkinos Healthcare in association with Agarpara Tetultala Auto Union and ClearMedi Healthcare organized a Cancer Screening Camp at Agarpara in Kolkata on World Cancer Day to encourage people to get tested regularly and highlight the importance of early detection in the treatment of cancer.
Over 300 Auto-Rickshaw Drivers and their family members attended the camp. A health education program on various risk factors of common cancers was also organized for the participants. They were also counselled to quit tobacco consumption like smoking, chewing tobacco etc. The participants also underwent health check-ups and screenings for certain types of cancers like Head & Neck, Oral, Lung, Prostate etc.
Dr. Akther Jawade, Director East, Karkinos Healthcare said, “The number of cancer cases in West Bengal is increasing at an alarming rate. West Bengal has around 5 lakh cancer patients with over 1 lakh cases of cancer are detected every year in the state out of which around 35,000 die annually due to cancer. This large-scale morbidity and mortality of cancer can easily be minimized with well planned cancer education, organized screening, and early detection programs. To address this issue, Karkinos Healthcare has collaborated with Agarpara Tetultala Auto Union and ClearMedi Healthcare for an outreach program to create awareness related to cancer and risk assessment among the Auto-Rickshaw Drivers and their family members in Barrackpore region of West Bengal. Prevention is better than cure, so we at Karkinos Healthcare feel that as citizens of the country it is our responsibility to encourage users to refrain from tobacco consumption and also to get tested regularly.”
A highly experienced Medical Team headed by Dr. Ramanuj Ghosh, Consultant, Head & Neck Surgeon, Karkinos Healthcare; along with RMOs, and Nurses was present to conduct the cancer screening program.
