Chandigarh, beware of Cancer!!

Various reports and researches have shown that the average rate of cancer in Chandigarh is the highest in the country and is a lot higher than the national average. It is an alarming sign to warn the citizens of the city to make the necessary amendments to their lifestyle and lead a healthier version of life.

The national average rate of cancer for men is 92.4 per 1 lakh and for females it is 97.4 per 1 lakh and on the contrary, in Chandigarh it is 93.4 per 1lakh for the former and 105 per 1 lakh for the latter. The research report has been prepared by the PGIMER, Chandigarh in collaboration with Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai and the Punjab Department of Health and Family Welfare and Director Health Services, Chandigarh. The project was named as, ‘Cancer burden in Chandigarh and Punjab’.

When it comes to females, the breast cancer rate in Chandigarh is the highest, in comparison to any other city around the country. Also, with the data of 2013, it can be calculated that the death rate in Chandigarh due to cancer is around 38 per 1 lakh for men and 32.7 per 1 lakh for women. Mohali itself has the highest incident rate of breast cancer, which is 33.9 per 1 lakh and these figures are higher than that of metro cities like Mumbai and Kolkata also. When it comes to Chandigarh, Mohali and Sangrur, Breast Cancer takes the first position, whereas the second most detected type of cancer is the Cervix uterine cancer. Mansa has a higher number of Cervix Uterine cancers in comparison to Breast cancer.

Mostly males in the urban areas of the city are reporting of the lung and prostate cancer, whereas the ones living in the rural areas are reporting for Esophagus cancer. In India, the highest rate of the prostate cancer is found to be in New Delhi and Chandigarh is on the second position, further followed by Mumbai and Kolkata. The average of Lung cancer among men in Chandigarh is the highest in the country.

As per the report, women are more prone to getting this deadly disease in comparison to men. The statistics say that only one man is prone to cancer out of nine in Chandigarh and one man is prone to cancer out of 11 in Mohali, whereas one out of eight women is prone to cancer, when it comes to either of these two cities. The new comprehensive cancer treatment center, which is being planned in Mohali, is a ray of hope to get the figures down in the future.