It is now mandatory for doctors, pathologists and medical establishments in Odisha to report all diagnosed cancer incidences to the state government within two weeks from date of diagnosis. This is because the Odisha government has declared cancer as a "reportable disease" for early detection and treatment.
The state health department on Wednesday released a notification in this regard, asking all persons associated with hospitals (private or public), pathological, clinical and radiological labs and any other healthcare related facilities to report about diagnosed cases of cancer to the appropriate authority for early detection and treatment of disease.
What is the reason behind declaring cancer as a reportable disease? The Odisha government believes that accurate estimation of cancer burden and its distribution with respect to time and place will help in mobilising resources for prevention and control, as well as reduce cancer-related mortalities. It also emphasized that areas with high prevalence of particular types of cancer need proper attention.
Beginning October 15, the Odisha government has started Population Based Cancer Registry (PBCR) in Khordha district, in collaboration with Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, and Department of Atomic Energy. The project was started from NISER Bhubaneswar campus.
Cancer killed nearly 10 million people in 2020, of which lung cancer accounted 1.80 million deaths, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Others leading causes of cancer death in 2020 included colon and rectum, liver, stomach and breast cancers.
In 2020, the most common cancers in terms of new cases were breast, lung, colon and rectum, prostate, skin and stomach cancers.
The UN health agency noted that up to 50 per cent of cancers can be prevented by avoidingthe risk factors such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, physical inactivity and air pollution.
As per the Cancer Statistics Report 2020, there were 1,392,179 cancer patients in India in 2020. The five common types of cancers were breast, lung, mouth, cervix, uteri and tongue.
