National Cancer Awareness Day 2024: History, Cancer rate in India and more

The purpose of National Cancer Awareness Day is to draw attention to the importance of early cancer identification and prevention. The second most common cause of death globally is cancer

Since 2014, India has marked November 7 as National Cancer Awareness Day annually. Raising public awareness of cancer prevention, detection, and treatment is the focus of this day. 

Promoting knowledge about cancer prevention, early detection, and accessible treatment choices also remains the goal of National Cancer Awareness Day. 

National Cancer Awareness Day 2024: History

The famous Polish-French physicist and chemist Marie Curie, who was born in 1867 and won a Nobel Prize for her scientific accomplishments was also born on this day. 

In order to enhance cancer treatment facilities nationwide, the National Cancer Control Program was started in 1975. The program's focus changed to cancer prevention and early detection by 1984–85, as their significance in the battle against the disease became increasingly apparent. 

 

National Cancer Awareness Day: Preventive measures 

The World Health Organization (WHO) says that the below measures can help lower the danger of cancer:

    • Stay away from tobacco

    • Maintaining a healthy body weight

    • Consuming a nutritious diet that has fruits and vegetables

    • Engaging in daily physical activity and exercises 

    • Lessening or avoiding alcohol 

    • Proper vaccination against hepatitis B and HPV

    • Steering clear of UV radiation (avoiding artificial tanning devices and prolonged sun exposure)

    • Guaranteeing that radiation is utilised safely and appropriately in healthcare (for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes)

    • Lessening exposure to air pollution, both indoors and outdoors.

National Cancer Awareness Day: Cancer rate in India

In 2022, India had over 14.1 lakh new cases of cancer and over 9.1 lakh deaths from the disease, according to the World Health Organization's (WHO) projection of the disease's worldwide burden.

According to the WHO's cancer agency, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), lung, lip, and oral cavity cancers are among the most prevalent among men and account for a significant portion of newly diagnosed cases. The most common malignancies in females were those of the breast and cervix, which accounted for about 27% and 18% of new cases, respectively.

The organisation also projected that there would be 97 lakh cancer-related deaths and two crore new cases worldwide. It also noted that within five years of receiving a cancer diagnosis, around 5.3 crore people were still alive.