Today is world cancer day every year, on the 4th of February, people worldwide spread awareness about cancer, how it spreads, how to get help, and how to prevent it. In 2022, the theme of World Cancer Day is the Close the Care Gap.

When I tell people they need to stop smoking, there are two kinds.

One who nods in agreement and then doesn’t listen.

Two, who looks upset and then do the hard work.

In the head neck cancer clinics at Safdarjung hospital, where I did my post-graduation, I heard spouses dejectedly talking about smoking through the tracheostomy stoma. A killer habit will kill and cause pain, suffering, loss of earnings, and inferior quality of life.

The tragedy is people in the grip of the killer habit have their brains wired for the next. They will say things like, “my friend smokes; nothing happens to him.”

” My father smoked all his life. He didn’t get cancer.”

“We will all die. Right? What should it matter? “

No two people’s life is the same. In any form, parents who are tobacco addicts pass it on to their offspring. When you break the chain, you break this vicious cycle.

The genetic imprint of addiction is profound.” So then we can just blame our parents, right?”

Not really individual choice helps in primordial prevention. Don’t try things that are known to be addictive because you will be in the grip of it. Even if you’re mentally powerful, certain things are happening in your brain, the neurochemicals signaling to each other, which you have no control over.

The friend who shares a cigarette is not a friend.

The people who will make money out of your bad habit are not your friend.

People who suffer and feel your pain; those people are your true friends. Life should be lived, not smoked in a cloud of nicotine and cancer-causing poison. Celebrities who promote addictive substances need to rethink their brand marketing and social responsibility.

So how do we close the care gap for cancer in India?

In a country like India, struggling to give universal access to healthcare and universal education. Access to addictive tobacco products seems to be universal. That needs to be stopped, increasing tax on it, the increasing penalty for smoking in public places, nothing seems to be working.

People spending money on tobacco, alcohol, and addictive substances will continue to do so. No amount of free healthcare support can prevent that.

New Zealand plans on banning the sale of tobacco to its next generation. How are they going to do so? Anyone born after 2008 will not be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products in their lifetime. There’s supposed to be a law enacted this year. They want to make sure young people never start smoking.

That is an excellent plan to make the next generation healthier and stop addiction. This aim at reforming this smoking culture is groundbreaking. New Zealand wants to achieve a national goal of reducing its national smoking rate to 5% by 2025 and then aims to totally eliminate it. 13% of new Zealand’s adults smoke.

This rate is much higher in other parts of the world. New Zealand is brave. Governments of other countries can also reduce or stop access to these known cancer-causing substances. There simply is no upside to tobacco.

Super tip: Prevention is our biggest weapon.

Statistics:

Now, some scary numbers. The projected number of patients with Cancer in India in 2020 was 1 3 9 2 1 7 9 5.[1]

Common leading sites of Cancer in India are:

• Breast
• Lung,
• Mouth
• Cervix,
• Tongue

Aizwal has a very high rate of cancer in both men and women. India is preparing for a massive cancer screening and other non-communicable diseases through the Ayushman Bharat program. Until and unless we take steps to prevent cancer, things will not go very well.

Amongst the risk factors causally associated with cancer include:

Number one position: Tobacco and cigarette smoking.

Cancer studies have shown tobacco as a direct risk factor for lung cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, head neck cancer, prostate cancer, urinary tract cancer, kidney cancer, cervical cancer, and acute myogenic leukemia. It’s a direct risk factor for forty-five percent of cancer cases in males and 17% of cancer cases and females. Both cigarette smoking and smokeless tobacco contribute to this.

Number two: Infections

Like HPV, the human papilloma virus causes cancer of the cervix, hepatitis B virus causes liver cancer, hepatitis C virus again causes liver cancer, EBV/ Epstein-Barr virus causes Burkitt’s lymphoma, H pylori causes gastric cancer.HPV vaccination prevents invasive malignancies of the cervix.

Number three: Radiation exposure

Radiation is another health hazard and includes UV radiation, high energy ionizing, radiation that causes cancer. Radiation can damage our DNA and cause cancer of the blood, breast cancer, lung cancer, and thyroid cancer. There is first-line evidence of cancer following radiation in Japanese atom bomb survivors. Healthcare workers and those are undergoing repeated X-rays CT scans. But medical diagnostics scans are crucial for many diseases, including broken bones, cancer, infections, etc. X-rays use less radiation than CT scans. Younger people are at more risk. Pregnant women are advised to avoid radiation exposure in any form. Children younger than five years are usually tested only when absolutely essential.Radiotherapy given for cancer treatment if not the targetted kind can also unfortunately cause cancer at secondary sites.

Number four: Immunosuppression

Immunosuppression after organ transplantation can sometimes result in cancers at the secondary site.

Super tip: Saying no to tobacco helps you prevent many disease without spending extra money.

Other Risk factors include:

Alcohol:

Smoking and alcohol are superadditive risk factors in head-neck cancers. Alcohol intake directly correlates and increases risk in the malignancies of mouth, esophagus, breast, colorectal, and liver cancer.

There is probable evidence in post-menopausal breast and endometrial cancer.

Obesity:

World cancer research foundations report relates obesity to post-menopausal breast, esophageal, pancreatic, colorectal, endometrial, and kidney cancer.

Diabetes

Diabetes can also increase cancer risk in the liver, pancreas, colorectal, breast cancer. Diabetes increases the risk of several non-communicable diseases and complications.

How to prevent cancer?

For people who don’t smoke:

Number one is to eat a healthy balanced diet. Cruciferous vegetables, garlic, tomatoes, green leafy vegetables, berries, nuts. Turmeric is known to have protective action against cancer. The dietary link of cancer preventive food is not very strong,but the overall effect of a healthy diet is unmatched.You’ll have to remember that a balanced diet helps you in many ways, not just preventing cancer. It helps prevent other non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and overall feeling of wellbeing.

Number two is exercise. Everyday exercising reduces stress helps you feel good. And it also helps in preventing many lifestyle diseases; just like a well-balanced diet, maintaining a healthy weight, prevention of obesity also goes a long way in preventing cancer of breast, bowel, pancreas, gall bladder, and kidney

Number three is Sleep :

It helps your body rest and repair and is a stress buster. Adequate sleep seven to eight hours at night is crucial for your body to heal.

Lowering Stress and embracing Happiness

Dance, sing, paint, spend time in nature, garden, read, do pottery or play with your baby. All this releases endorphins which help in well-being. Meditation also helps in keeping your body feeling happy and calm.

For those who smoke and have other addictions:

Stop tobacco use in any form and any other addictions,plus follow the above.

Conclusion:

When you stop smoking, you help yourself, your family, your community. You set an example that you think your life is more precious than the next puff. You reclaim your chance at a healthy life. Plus, you save money you would have spent on buying cigarettes and save the money you would have spent on healthcare.

Get screened on time. Talk to your doctor about your family history. If you have a family history of malignancies.

Healthy lifestyle and immunization with hepatitis B and HPV on time also helps prevent these preventable diseases.

Other Resources on Cancer:

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