UICC World Cancer Congress 2006

Objective: In a country like India with increasing life expectancy and a demonstrable control on infectious diseases, an increase in cancer incidence is most expected. With about one million new cases detected each year, it is estimated that there are about 2.0 – 2.5 million cases of cancer at any point of time who require treatment. But despite the increasing cancer incidence in the country, no serious effort has yet been made towards preventive measures or for providing facilities for cancer screening or early detection of the disease. The Workshop will highlight the role of NGOs in complementing governmental support in campaign againstcancer.

Methods:Besides economic constraints there are many socio-cultural hurdles also that complicate the cancer control scenario in India. Illiteracy, lack of any health communication strategy, fatalistic attitude of people and social stigma & ignorance about a disease like cancer prevent people to seek early medical consultation. The situation is further confounded by a high prevalence of tobacco consumption and several life-style related factors which are responsible for nearly 70% of cancer incidence in India. Thus, the voluntary or Non-Government Organizations have great responsibility in creating awareness and educating people about cancer prevention, in organizing a systematic campaign against tobacco usage and in providing dedicated cancer screening and early detection services.

Results:Several innovative modules of creating mass awareness against tobacco use and other harmful lifestyle factors will be discussed. In addition, our experience in conducting successful cervical cancer screening program for community and field-tested logistics using low cost technologies will be presented.