IN the last six years, the Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) Soura has recorded over 27,000 cancer patients. Overall, around 51,000 cancer cases have been registered in J&K over the past four years. And according to the official statistics released by the Union Health Ministry, a total of 35,623 people in J&K died of cancer between 2018 and 2022. These figures paint a grim picture. And the situation looks set to get even worse from hereon if no ameliorative measures are taken.
In Kashmir, for that matter, the cancer has grown disproportionately over the last decade. In fact, the data over the last decade shows a rising graph of the cancer cases. Around 3,075 cancer cases were reported in 2011, 3,288 in 2012, 3,157 in 2013, 3,940 in 2014 and 4,257 in 2015. The figures since have only grown bigger. In 2021 alone, Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences alone registered over 5000 new cases of cancer with breast cancer showing a conspicuous spike.
This calls for more pro-active handling of the situation from the UT government. In addition to generous allocation of resources for the treatment, there is an urgent need to investigate the reasons for the sudden increase in the number of cancers in the UT. People need to know as to what has changed in Kashmir that has led to the spread of cancer. It is a pity that our major healthcare institutions have been unable to put into public domain credible research about the causes for the growing incidence of cancer in the region. Such studies will be immensely helpful as they will persuade people to take due precautions to reduce their vulnerability to the disease. The public awareness that the doctors have talked about will flow from this.
In recent years, food contamination and adulteration have emerged as major issues in Kashmir. Hazardous agents have been found to have been used even in the food products of some major corporate houses. Sadly, J&K government has so far done little about the growing food adulteration in the UT, which has now been proven to be one of the factors leading to the rise in cases of cancer in the Valley. The rise in the incidence of the deadly disease is, therefore, a wake-up call. The government has to get cracking on the unscrupulous traders and expose the use of chemicals and dyes in food. And at least, to start with, there has to be a campaign to create more awareness of the ways in which our food is adulterated.
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