Deadly Cancer is claiming the lives of 20 people every day in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir as nearly 66,000 patients lost their battle against this deadly disease during the last ten years.
According to the National Cancer Registry Programme Report tabled in the Lok Sabha, there has been a constant increase in the number of cancer deaths across Jammu and Kashmir between 2013 and 2022, thereby indicating that cancer has spread its tentacles like an epidemic despite the war against the disease has been launched by the Government of India and the UT administration.
According to the data, as many as 65,949 patients lost their lives due to Cancer across Jammu and Kashmir between 2013 and 2022.
In the year 2022, a total of 7,396 cancer patients lost their lives, which means an average of over 20 patients died every single day due to Cancer in the Union Territory.
Out of these cases, as many as 784 patients including 201 women lost their lives due to lung cancer in Jammu and Kashmir during the year 2022.
A careful study of the statistics showed that there has been a constant rise in mortality of Cancer cases in the UT as only 5,832 patients had died due to the disease in Jammu and Kashmir during the year 2013.
Union Government supports States/UTs to control Cancer
The Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, provides technical and financial support to the States and the Union Territories under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of NonCommunicable Diseases (NP-NCD), as part of the National Health Mission (NHM), based on the proposals received from the States and Union Territories and subject to the resource envelope.
The programme focuses on strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, health promotion, and awareness generation for prevention, early diagnosis, management, and referral to an appropriate level of the healthcare facility for treatment of the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) including Cancer.
Initiatives taken to care of Cancer
- The Central Government implements the Strengthening of Tertiary Care Cancer Facilities (STCCF) Scheme.
- 19 State Cancer Institutes (SCIs) and 20 Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCCs) have been approved under the said scheme. The financial assistance is for the procurement of radiotherapy equipment, diagnostic equipment, surgical equipment, and enhancement of indoor civil works and patient facilities for cancer.
- National Cancer Institute at Jhajjar (Haryana) and the second campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata have also been set up with state-of-the-art diagnostic, advanced radiation, medical, and surgical care facilities.
- Under the aegis of Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY), the setting up of 22 new AIIMS and the upgradation of 75 new projects of Government Medical Colleges has been taken up. Cancer treatment facilities have been envisaged in all the 22 AIIMS.
- Out of these, six AIIMS at Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur, and Rishikesh are already functional where cancer treatment facilities are operational.
- These AIIMS have been provided with state-of-the-art diagnostic, medical, and surgical care facilities.
