The cancer surge in J&K
With over 12,000 new cancer cases annually, Jammu and Kashmir faces a growing health crisis which doesn’t get commensurate attention. The analysis of data from Kashmir's two tertiary care healthcare institutions, Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) and Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) Hospital, paints a somber picture. SKIMS has documented a 44,112 cancer cases from 2013 to 2023, while SMHS Hospital has reported 6,379 cases from 2017 to 2023. The Government Medical College Anantnag alone has registered over 1,600 cancer patients in the last few years. The numbers highlight the magnitude of the issue, with a majority of cancer patients seeking treatment in these two hospitals.
The numbers for other hospitals across the union territory have also shown an incremental trend. The most prevalent cancers in the Kashmir Valley include skin cancer, linked to the Kangri (firepot), as well as lung, breast, rectal, stomach, prostate, liver, cervical, esophageal, bladder, and blood cancers. Another cancer that has shown a conspicuous rise is breast cancer, with 9321 women testing positive for breast cancer in J&K during 2019-2023. During the period, a total of 2024 women lost their lives to breast cancer in J&K. At GMC, Jammu alone, 727 cases have been reported in the last five years. The growing number of malignancies have also been witnessed among the children.
The reasons for this increase in the number of cases have broadly been traced to lifestyle choices, environmental factors, and limited access to advanced diagnostics. In Kashmir’s cases, our unhealthy dietary choices are also seen as a factor. While more awareness certainly needs to be created among people to lead healthier lives, there is a case for enhancing the diagnostic and treatment facilities for the cancer patients in the Valley. There is already a growing chunk of population in the UT that prefers the advanced cancer institutes in Delhi and Mumbai for the treatment. But this is a largely well-to-do section of population which can bear the massive treatment expenses outside the UT. What about the people who can’t afford it and depend solely on SKIMS and SMHS?
That said, there is a need for a more proactive handling of the deadly disease by the administration. In addition to increasing the allocation of resources for the treatment, there is an urgent need to investigate the reasons for this growing surge in cancer cases in the UT. People need to know as to what has changed in our place that has led to the spread of the disease. It is a pity that our major healthcare institutions have been unable to put in public domain credible research about the causes for the growing incidence of cancer in the state. Such studies will be immensely helpful as it will persuade people to take due precautions to reduce their vulnerability to the disease.
