The Tata Memorial Centre has recently published the findings of a first-of-its-kind study, researching the cost of illness and treatment of oral cancer in India. The study, headed by Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi set out to conduct a cost of illness analysis that would provide invaluable information for policymakers that make appropriate allocation of resources […]
Breast cancer
Cancer in India: A snapshot of the threat
India observes World Cancer Day 2021 in far from normal circumstances. The raging COVID-19 pandemic has threatened to obscure the plethora of other diseases India and the world at large grapples with. Awareness events such as World Cancer Day serve to shine a light on the far-reaching impact of cancer in India, which has emerged […]
All you need to know about Breast Cancer
World Cancer Day 2021: All you need to know about Breast Cancer The most common cancer amongst women, breast cancer covers 25% of all cancer burden, globally as well as in India. With alarming rise in its incidence in the country, predominantly in urban India, estimates suggest every four minutes an Indian woman is diagnosed […]
Breast cancer cases on the rise
Multiple Indian states are witnessing an increase in their number of breast cancer cases according to recent data, suggesting an uptick in rates of one of the major public health threats to Indian women. As previously reported by Health Issues India, “breast cancer… is the most common type of cancer among Indian women and, together […]
How the Indore Government Cancer Hospital’s cases reflects India’s breast cancer burden
In the Indore Government Cancer Hospital in India’s Malwa Nimar region, a sixty percent surge in breast cancer cases was witnessed – in just two years. Between 2016 and 2018, cases jumped from 700 to 1,125 according to hospital records. In the same timeframe, the total number of cancer increased by 12.5 percent, from 4,000 […]
Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Lessons for India
October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Telangana state capital Hyderabad commemorated the observance by illuminating monuments and other sites in pink – reflecting the colour of the ribbon which serves as the symbol for the event. “Breast Cancer Awareness Month…helps to increase attention and support for the awareness, early detection and treatment as well […]
HWCs: Almost 21,000 built under Ayushman Bharat
![A primary health centre in Thuravoor, Kerala. Strengthening India's primary healthcare infrastructure through HWCS is a core of Ayushman Bharat. (Image credit: Ranjithsiji [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons)](https://www.healthissuesindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/800px-Thuravoor_Primary_Health_Center_Main_Building-150x150.jpg "Healthcare equipment: The greatest disparity?")
More than 20,000 health and wellness centres (HWCs) are operational across India. HWCs mark a major commitment by the Centre to strengthening primary healthcare infrastructure in the country, coming as part of its flagship health insurance initiative, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) or Ayushman Bharat. In the previous year, 20,942 HWCs have become […]
Indian research into the spread of breast cancer
A collaborative research project is underway between the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati and Indian Institute of Science (IIS), Bangalore into the means by which breast cancer spreads throughout the bloodstream. Research indicates that, by 2020, India could expect to see around 76,000 deaths due to breast cancer per year. These deaths could […]
India will need 7,300 cancer doctors by 2040 as chemotherapy need and cancer cases rise
By 2040, the number of people living with cancer who require chemotherapy will increase significantly worldwide. The burden will be most pronounced in low- or middle-income countries, including India, home to the third largest number of people living with cancer in the world. “The number of cancer cases necessitating first-line chemotherapy treatment will increase by […]
Why India fails to be a breastfeeding nation
India is failing to be a breastfeeding nation – potentially putting the lives of its newborns at risk. Just 41.5 percent of newborns in India are breastfed within an hour of being born. This is according to new data released by UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), ahead of World Breastfeeding Awareness Week this year. On […]