Goa is said to be the breast cancer capital of India. What an alarming statement, that too amid the shivers of the dreaded coronavirus. Two cancer specialists, one from Raheja hospital, Mumbai and Goa’s lone lady cancer surgeon, pointed out at late marriages, delayed child-bearing and unhealthy lifestyles among reasons of rising cancer cases in Goa. There are on an average 200 breast cancer cases reported in Goa every year, and yet these figures are without a registry. Is the State Health Ministry listening?
Cancer continues to be one of the most dreaded diseases that Goans are familiar with, and the Goa Medical College and Hospital, the State premier hospital and research wing, has fallen way short in addressing it till now. The State has no study on the trends of cancer cases nor a registry of patients. In the absence of system-coordination with private hospitals, the health department has failed to collate data which could form a base for research.
We cannot keep blaming formalin-laced fish or consumption of processed foods or an unhealthy lifestyle without getting into the specifics. In this context, the Health Department, especially the FDA, has to play a proactive role. The FDA has failed in its duty to conduct surprise checks on meats and other consumables, including fish and vegetables. We don’t have water-tight systems to ensure clean products reach the common man. Even in this age, the market is flooded with artificially ripened bananas, and fruits like mangoes. Harmful and toxic chemicals like calcium carbide go into treating fruits. And despite raising a hue and cry over formalin-laced fish, the much-talked-about state-of-the-art food testing facility in Margao continues to be a distant dream even two years later.
The Government must show serious concern toward the health of the people and overhaul the FDA. Food testing and hygiene have to be our priority. The Health Ministry remains very sluggish when it comes to awareness. If data suggests we are the capital for breast cancer, it indicates that the system too has failed somewhere. People need to be made aware of the risk factors, symptoms, prevention, diagnosis and management, and this should be an ongoing process.
The Government’s plan to have a regional cancer centre is a welcome step, but it will not help much if there is no early detection. The seriousness of the government in battling cancer is not visible. The MoU with the Union Health Ministry for the regional cancer centre was signed in June 2017, and the State government received the first installment of Rs 8.5 cr in December 2017. The question is, why was it not pursued as a top priority given the cancer alarm in Goa? The talk of setting up a cancer unit, a tertiary centre, has been going on for a long time.
While the cancer centre falls in place, the health department must compile data on cancer cases and study the trends. There is undoubtedly something wrong somewhere.
