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Saturday, April 27, 2024
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| Article / Health / Diseases and Conditions | Post Comments |
Cancer - Alarming Facts |
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| By : Aster Medcity , Kochi , India 5.2.2018 Phone:0484 669 9999 Mail Now | |
| Kuttisahib Road, Near Kothad Bridge, South Chittoor, Cheranalloor, Kochi, Kerala 682027 | |
 Dr Jem KalathilSenior ConsultantSurgical OncologistAster Medcity, Kochi As we move into 2018, our modern life style is creating
havoc in the health scene. This is significant since we as a society is sill
under a myth regarding the Kerala model of health care. The situation is
alarming even though our health care indices are still the best in the country.
Move towards a digital era has brought with it all the perils of unhealthy life
style. Most alarming is the fact that, at the drop of a hat, we are forcing even
infants to watch tabs and the idiot box incessantly in the guise of feeding them
and pacifying them. We are thus forgoing any chance of recovery for another
generation purely for our comfort. International strategies on life style intervention aim for 10 % relative reduction in the use of alcohol & insufficient inactivity, 30 % reduction in salt intake & prevalence of current tobacco use in persons aged above 15 years. If you look at the common cancers, Breast Cancer reflects the prevalence of risk factors associated with affluence & socio economic status including parity, age of menarche & menopause, obesity, tobacco smoking & alcohol consumption. High rates of lung cancer patterns reflect the current phase of lung cancer epidemic due to past smoking exposure. World Cancer Day is mainly influenced by diet with high intake of red & processed meat, obesity, sedentary life style. The risk of Prostrate Cancer increases with tobacco usage, alcohol consumption, wrong diet & absence of physical exercise. Alcohol is an important public health problem with detrimental health & social consequences for the drinker, people around the drinker & society at large. It causes cancers of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, oesophagus, colon, rectum, liver, breast & pancreas. Alcohol causes cancer through the production of acetaldehyde which is a toxic metabolite. What is alarming for me is that alcohol related social issues and drink driving has still not become socially unacceptable like in the west Tobacco usage and smoking is another bane of executive life style. It is the single largest cause of cancer in the world & is the leading cause of preventable death in the world. One person dies every 6 seconds from tobacco related diseases, & what worries me most is the that we have six lakhs victims of second hands smoking. One out of four of all cancer deaths are caused by smoking. 95 % of lung cancers are due to tobacco smoking. Coming to nutrition, physical activity & obesity, WHO has estimated that insufficient intake of fruit & vegetable causes approximately 14 % of deaths from gastro intestinal tumors. Junk food brands and unhealthy fast food culture has made significant inroads and has become a way of life in our society especially among executives. Proper diet will lower the risk of cancer of the digestive system by 30%. Physical activity may lower the risk of colon cancer by 20% & breast cancer by 30%. Inappropriate diet causes about 1/3rd of all cancer death world wide. Diet is linked to cancers of the lung, stomach, colon, oropharynx, oesophagus and mouth. Even though a typical executive is aware of the pitfalls of an unhealthy lifestyle, it is often difficult to break away from well established social systems. When strategies are planned to combat this social menace of smoking we have to be innovative. In addition to the existing strategies in controlling the usage of tobacco like awareness programs, pricing and taxation to decrease the availability of tobacco products, we have to strive toward a lasting social and cultural change. More awareness should be given to the non smoker regarding the huge health impacts they suffer in the presence of a smoker. Public smoking should become socially unacceptable especially in front of children. The implementation of ban on public smoking is patchy at best. Strategies addressing these issues should be initiated & integrated with school health programs. Children should be given a chance to proudly resist smoking at an early age as an informed choice and should be rewarded socially. Alcohol related issues is more complex. Personally I am of the school that forcible ban on alcohol in a democratic society is not practical. I believe that systems should be in place to prevent spurious liquor and drugs. Consistent and stringent measures should be in place to tackle alcohol related antisocial behavior, domestic issues and crimes. Although abstinence from alcohol should be the aim, clear awareness should be ensured on the harmful use of alcohol. Policies should be innovative to make tobacco & alcohol usage socially unacceptable especially in an executive lifestyle Dietary interventions to tackle the menace of junk food should be novel and consistent. I believe that in addition to the current strategies in place, emphasis should be on catching them young. Healthy eating habits should become entrenched in the child from school days. Parents have a critical role in ensuring healthy diets from infancy. I strongly believe that children should have the opportunity to make an informed choice at later ages regarding their diet. This approach would have long term benefits in the molding a healthy generation. Also a healthy holistic lifestyle should be offered incorporating physical activity, yoga and meditation from childhood aimed at social and spiritual well being In addition, children could be used as a corrective force for their parents health. They can exert a critical and significant push to make parents quit smoking, alcohol and take better care of their own health. Along with these long term strategies, a robust cancer awareness program should be in place for employees highlighting the perils of an executive life style. Institutional policies should be directed to provide and reward efforts to change to a healthy life style within the system. Early detection and cancer screening activities should be made mandatory in institutions since they provide a more viable economic model in the long term. More importantly there should be a cultural change in the mindset of the physician community as well to combat lifestyle diseases and cancer screening. These should be a routine practice across specialties to educate and nudge every patient, towards a better healthy life style. Screening programs for life style diseases and cancer should be made mandatory at various points in one’s career as appropriate. Health insurance models should include such screening than opting to pay for the treatment of advanced disease. |
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