EVERY SIXTH DEATH in the world happens because of cancer, said Dr C.S. Pramesh, director, Tata Memorial Hospital, at the seminar on ‘Fight Cancer Find the Cure’, organised by THE WEEK in partnership with the Life Insurance Corporation of India. “By 2040, almost 70 per cent of all cancers will occur in low- and middle-income countries like India,” he added. “And countries like us, honestly, are ill-equipped to handle this increasing burden. Unless we have a systematic cancer plan, we will be troubled in the near future.”
The event that took place on August 26 was the second seminar on cancer care hosted by THE WEEK (the first being in 2019). Leading experts from some of the most reputed hospitals providing cancer treatment in India were in attendance and spoke about the treatment modalities, post recovery care and the importance of health insurance.
The panel discussion on cancer in males, moderated by Dr Vijay Haribhakti, director, oncology, Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital, gave an insight into the why and how of head and neck cancers in Indian males. On the panel were his eminent colleagues Dr Sewanti Limaye, director, medical and precision oncology, and director, clinical and translational oncology research; Dr Prasad Dandekar, head of radiation oncology and Dr Tushar Thorat, consultant surgeon (plastic, reconstructive and microvascular). The panel agreed that the top reasons that contributed to making India the “global head and neck cancer capital” were chewing tobacco and areca nut, use of condiments, lack of oral hygiene, smoking, and other habits, including alcohol. The takeaway from the discussion, said Haribhakti, was: Avoid tobacco, strive for early diagnosis, choose a specialist centre for treatment and aim for a cure the very first time.
Veena Khan, senior divisional manager, LIC, spoke about how one can better manage the financial burden resulting from cancer treatment by opting for insurance, such as LIC’s cancer cover available for those between the ages of 20 and 65, and which covers early to later stages of cancer.
The session on cancer care in women, moderated by Dr Sujit Chatterjee, CEO, Hiranandani Hospital, highlighted, among other aspects, how 26 in every one lakh women are at a lifetime risk of developing breast cancer and that their mortality rate was exactly half. The eminent panel included Dr Ashish Bakshi, medical oncologist and haematologist, Dr Namita Pandey, breast oncosurgeon, Dr Deepak Chhabra, surgical oncologist and Dr Amit Chakraborty, oncologist for head and neck cancer.
The third session discussed cancer in children and was moderated by Dr Ruchira Misra, consultant, department of paediatric hematology, oncology and BMT at Narayana Health’s SRCC Children’s Hospital. The panelists comprised Dr Purna Kurkure, Dr Shripad Banavali, Dr Rasik Shah, Dr Monica Bhagat, Dr Sujata Mushrif and Dr Chintan Vyas.
The fourth panel was moderated by Dr Vandana Dhamankar of the Indian Cancer Society. The discussion was on surviving cancer and the panelists were Dr Maya Prasad, Dr Savita Goswami, Dr Nisha Agarwal, Usha Banerji of St. Jude India ChildCare Centres and Preeti Phad, a cancer survivor.
The takeaway from the seminar was: “Do not fear; rather, fight cancer.”