Reaching out community for cancer prevention and control

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, February 4: Cancer is the cause of 12 per cent of all deaths globally every year and 5.5 lakh cancer patients die of cancer in India. The main drawback in controlling and preventing cancer in India is lack of community awareness and poor health seeking behaviour, said B Barooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati.

In India, knowledge, attitude and practice about cancer and  its early detection using  screening  is still  a question. There are varied reasons of non–practising or non–utilization cancer screening services and most important of these reasons is being ‘lack of awareness’ and misconceptions about cancer in the community.

According to the Institute, 60–80 per cent of the cancer cases are reported at late stages which makes treatment and cure of the disease cumbersome stages. To address the lack of community awareness and meet the gap in seeking screening services preventive oncology department of BBCI has been reaching out the community on regular basis by organizing and conducting cancer awareness and early detection programmes.

In context to World Cancer Day on February 4, month–long early detection and awareness programmes have been organized under the department. On the occasion of world cancer day on  February 4, 2015 under the tag line ‘not beyond us’  the Department of Preventive Oncology, BBCI in collaboration with Rotary Club Inner wheel, Megm Society and Magement of North East Development Society (NEED) has organized a day–long community reach out awareness and sensitization programmes to cover consecutive different community sectors – school awareness at Khrish gar Highschool, Japorogog, community awareness programme at Hatigaon, and  a semir on ‘socioeconomic burden of cancer and its prevention’ at the Guwahati office of NEED.

Dr Sraba Misra  Bhagabaty from the Department of  Preventive Oncology, BBCI will conduct all there reach–out programmes as the resource person.