Editorial Team
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Punjab has over 90 cancer patients per 1 lakh population. This is much higher than the national average of 80 per lakh. The Malwa region, also known as the 'cancer belt', has the highest average of 136 cancer patients per 1lakh of population. This startling statistic was released by the Punjab government. Data over the last five years has shown that 18 people die of cancer every day, on an average. The records show that there are 23,874 cancer patients in the state and 33,318 people have died of the dreaded disease during the last five years. Another shocking revelation is that nearly 24,000 people in the state are confirmed to be suffering from the dreaded disease while 84,453 people are suspected to be suffering from it.The Muktsar and Malwa region recorded an astounding 136.3 patients for every lakh. These figures were revealed after the state health department, undertook a comprehensive door-to-door campaign to know the state of affairs in Punjab.
The Punjab health minister, Madan Mohan Mittal, blamed the use of excessive pesticides for the alarming rate of cancers in the state. The Malwa region that comprises of Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar, Patiala, Sangrur among other districts, have recorded cancer incidences of 107.4 per lakh. Majha district comprising of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Taran Taran has shown the lowest numbers of cases at 64.7 cases per lakh. The rich Doaba region, including, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Phagwara, Kapurthala, has confirmed 88.1 cancer patients per lakh of population.
Punjab health secretary Vini Mahajan said that the figures were based on the patient's own analysis. These figures were recorded where people themselves have been diagnosed with cancer, or have relatives who are suffering or have succumbed to the disease. The representatives gave a list of symptoms of cancer and the 85,000 people who suspected that they were suffering from the disease will now be made to undergo tests to confirm the diagnosis.