Chennai :

Pointing out that cervical cancer is less among Muslim women, Dr V Shanta, chairperson, Cancer Institute WIA, attributes this to the religious ritual of circumcision practised by them.

Addressing the gathering at a symposium on women’s oncology organised by Apollo Hospitals and National Cancer Institute of the  United States (USA NCI) on Monday, Dr Shanta says only 8.9% of the Muslim women have cervical cancer compared to 15.4% among the Christian women and 22.1% among the Hindu women against a total ratio of 1 lakh.

“The main reason for such a drastic change is the practice of circumcision and penile hygiene,” she adds. “Circumcision has a protective effect against sexual transmission of human papilloma virus (HPV), which is a causative agent in cervical cancer,” said a doctor at the symposium.

The country has seen an uneven literacy pattern which has affected cancer detection and curing, according to Dr Shanta. Various research have proved that uneducated adults are more likely to die from cancer than the educated as awareness is a big problem for illiterate people, she said.

Further, she says that there has been a decrease in cervical cancer among women in the urban centres when compared to rural areas. But city women have recorded an increase in breast cancer. Dr Shanta cited the figures of 2009-12 to show that cervical cancer reported in Chennai is only 16.5% when compared to 22.8% in rural areas. Likewise, breast cancer reported in the Chennai is 38.6% when compared to 15.1% in rural areas.

“This is because of education and socio-economic status of the people. The attitude among the urban populace is more towards the cure than prevention. Only when they realise that prevention is better than cure can the rates of cancer death be brought down,” she explained.

State health secretary J Radhakrishnan said that private and government hospitals along with NGOs are working together to fight oncology among women. He pointed out that around 1.09 crore women were screened for cervical cancer in Tamil Nadu out of which 3.7 lakh were found to have the the disease. Similarly, around 1.33 crore women were screened for breast cancer out of which which 1.64 lakh were found to have the disease.

A symposium titled ‘Marga’ focused on a road map towards women’s oncology care in India was held. It was pointed out that 35 million deaths occurred due to NCDs (non-communicable diseases) each year which is due to sedentary lifestyle, poor diet regime and high stress levels. While many schools had banned fast foods in their canteens, parents must avoid giving kids such items, they said.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / February 23rd, 2016