‘Kerala has highest number of cancer patients in the country’
The Kerala High Court on Friday admitted a public interest writ petition seeking a directive to the State government to set up early cancer detection centres (ECDC) in all the districts in the State.
The petition also sought a directive to strengthen the existing ECDCs in Ernakulam and Palakkad by putting in place more infrastructural facilities and filling the vacancies of cytopathologists and cytotechnologists.
The petitioner, Bindhya J. of Alappuzha, said early diagnosis of cancer could provide better treatment to patients in the most effective manner at a lesser cost. However, diagnosing cancer early required public and professional awareness as well as prompt clinical and diagnostic intervention.
The petitioner said the State had the highest number of cancer patients in the country. As per a study report, 133 persons per lakh men suffered from cancer disease while it was 125 females per one lakh. This was only the tip of the iceberg.
The actual number of cancer patients in the State might be more than double the figure as many incidents went unreported. According to oncologists nearly 50 per cent of the cancer cases could be cured if the disease was detected at the initial stage itself and treatment started.
The petitioner said the formation of a National Cancer Registry based on population of each State was the need of the hour.
The cancer registries, a core component of cancer health information systems, had a major role in providing data to prioritise programmes in national cancer control plans as well as to monitor the progress of implementation.
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