Union Minister Jitendra Singh launched the 'Pink Chain Cancer Campaign' aimed at raising awareness about the disease and its prevention and cure at the North East Council (NEC) secretariat here today.
The week-long campaign, organised by the NEC and the Pink Chain Campaign, an NGO, will culminate on April 29.
Launching the campaign, Singh, the Union Minister of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) said the campaign is not necessarily meant for only the state of Meghalaya but for entire North East.
"The success of this campaign would lie when we will arrive at a situation where we would not have the requirement of such a campaign a few years from now," he said.
Over the years, the prevalence of cancer has gone up in the North East due to various factors, like food habits and lifestyle, Singh said.
The DoNER Minister also announced a 6-month course at the Chennai-based Adyar Cancer Institute for physicians or surgeons from the region.
Stating that the first batch has already left and started their course in January, he said the cost of training the doctors, surgeons and physicians will be borne by the ministry and the institute.
Meanwhile, with over 270 cancer cases detected per one lakh population, Aizawl has been ranked the highest cancer prone district in the country, according to the latest 2014 report.
Announcing this, National Cancer Institute chief Dr G K Rath said Aizawl has been followed by East Khasi Hills district of Meghalaya and Kamrup of Assam.
He said North East states have reported high incidence rates of cancers of upper aerodigestive tracts and stomach.
Cancer of the oesophagus is the most common in Meghalaya and Assam, while stomach cancer is prevalent in Sikkim and Mizoram.
In women, the cancer of the breast and the cervix are the leading types in 18 of the 25 Population Based Cancer Registry (PBCR) while the cancer of the lungs was leading in Manipur and Mizoram.
