New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh has registered the maximum number of cancer cases in 2022 followed by Maharashtra and West Bengal, the health ministry informed the Lok Sabha on Friday.
Giving statistics on the number of cancer cases, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Satya Pal Singh Bhagel said that Uttar Pradesh registered 2,10,958 cases in the last year whereas Maharashtra and West Bengal registered 1,21,717 and 1,13,581 cases respectively in the same period.
There is also a sharp increase in cancer cases across India in the last three years. Giving statistics Bhagel said that in 2020, India registered 13,92,179 cancer cases which went up to 14,26,447 in 2021 and 14,61,427 in 2022. Among the other three major states, Bihar registered 10,92,74 cases in 2022, followed by Tamil Nadu 93,536 and Karnataka 90,349 respectively.
“Cancer is an integral part of the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD). The programme focusses on strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, health promotion & awareness generation for cancer prevention, early diagnosis, management and referral to an appropriate level of healthcare facility for treatment of the Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), including Cancer,” Bhagel said.
He informed that under NP-NCD, 724 district NCD Clinics, 326 district daycare centres, and 6110 community health centre NCD clinics have been set up. In Rajasthan, 48 district NCD clinics, 33 district daycare centres, and 728 community health centre NCD clinics have been set up. “A population-based initiative for prevention, control and screening for common NCDs including diabetes, hypertension and common cancers has been rolled out in the country under NHM and also as a part of comprehensive primary health care. Under the initiative, persons more than 30 years of age are targeted for their screening for the three common cancers including oral, breast and cervical cancer. Screening of these common cancers is an integral part of service delivery under Ayushman Bharat – Health and Wellness Centres,” the minister said.
He said that the preventive aspect of cancer is strengthened under comprehensive primary health care through the Ayushman Bharat Health Wellness Centre scheme, by promotion of wellness activities and targeted communication at the community level. “The central government implements strengthening of tertiary cancer care centres facilities scheme in order to enhance the facilities for tertiary care of cancer. 19 State Cancer Institutes (SCIs) and 20 Tertiary Cancer Care Centres (TCCCs) have been approved under the said scheme. Seventeen facilities are functional so far. SP Medical College, Bikaner, SMS Medical College, Jaipur and Jhalawar Medical College & Hospital, Jhalawar are approved under the scheme,” he said.
The minister informed that setting up of National Cancer Institute at Jhajjar (Haryana) and the second campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata are also steps in this direction. All these enhance the capacity for the treatment of cancer in the country. According to the statistics West Bengal has the highest three Tertiary Cancer Care Centres, Maharsashtra has two Tertiary Cancer Care Centres and one State Cancer Institute whereas Rajasthan has two TCCCs and one SCI. Bhagel said that the government has also taken initiatives for the upgradation of cancer treatment in 13 government medical institutes including four in Uttar Pradesh, two in Rajasthan, and one each in Jharkhand, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, and Kerala.
