Cancer Literacy - Need of hour

As Mahatma Gandhi said once, “if you teach one female, you teach complete family”. 

At All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, (when I was doing senior residency in Medical Oncology), we realized one bitter truth. Majority of our cancer patients are presenting in either in metastatic diseases (stage IV or last stage) and with very poor general health. This kind of clinical situation creates a challenging situation for patient, their families, doctors, medical care system, nation and finally economic state of country where resources are mere wasted in the name- emotions and empathy.  And all the time, this is attributed to illiteracy.

Cancer is on the rise. Worldwide cancer cases are increasing day by day. India is a diverse country with 1.33 billion population and varied geographic distribution. While cities are getting overcrowded and villages are becoming thin, though the GDP is increasing but in certain states the literacy remains a problem. The purchasing power is increasing but simultaneously people are ignorant for their diseases. This is a bitter truth. We have mobile phones. We can operate them. We can count money but when it comes to health, we then become illiterate.

Literacy has been defined in India. People of age seven and more, who can write & read and understand in any language are considered literate for census purpose. Though we have achieved the benchmark of 75% literacy rate, but it is varied among states and also marked difference in genders. As per census 2011, Bihar has lowest literacy rate with 63.8% and female literacy rate is 53.3%. Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh also has similar rates. The literacy rates are more in Southern states, but uniformly female literacy rate is less as compare to males. That means almost every second female is illiterate. We can imagine our state of cancer literacy.

There are various issues apart from illiteracy, like personal beliefs, cultural taboos and denial of deadly disease among the educated and affluent societies. There is another large issue. Due to denial, lot of patients visit “Babas, Tantricks and Quacks”. Some of them also take opinion and treatment from Ayurvedic and Homeopathic specialists.  Ayurveda and Homeopathy sciences are useful but they also have limitations. We have witnessed the classic example of the famous cricketer. Politicians are travelling to USA for their allopathic treatment.

When I say, breast cancer is curable in early stages, that means 90-95% patients of early stages are curable when all modalities are used including surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormonal therapy. It is a proven fact. Such kind of evidence is not found in Ayurveda and Homeopathy.

Anyway, the ignorance whether it is due to illiteracy or other reasons for cancer is devastating for families in the end. The very purpose of writing this is to make public and per se nation to understand about cancer. Many of the cancers are curable now if they are treated during the early stages.

In real world, it is very difficult to understand and get statistics for literacy for cancer. However, health care providers, doctors, NGOs and governments should come together for improving the literacy rate of cancer. If today Mahtma Gandhi would have been alive he must have said this-
" if we teach one female about cancer, generations learn.”