Where there is faith, there is healing | Spread awareness on National Cancer Awareness Day

In 2014, ‘National Cancer Awareness Day’ set out with the proclamation of former Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan. This day is observed on 7th November to raise awareness about cancer and prioritize world health. If detected early, many cancer patients can survive this difficult journey of treatment and walk the path of new life.

Why November 7:

Madame Marie Curie, a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who carried on innovating research on radioactivity. This spectacular scientist is recalled for her discovery of radium and polonium. She also left an enormous contribution to the fight against cancer. This day is specially celebrated on the 7th to gibe with her birth anniversary. Her works led to the evolution of nuclear energy and radiotherapy for the treatment of cancer.

“Henceforth November 7 will be observed all over the country as National Cancer Awareness Day. It is high time we went into combative mode against this disease,” Dr Harsh Vardhan had said. The decision to make the 7th as ‘National Cancer Awareness Day’ was announced when research estimates that about 1.1 million new cancers occur in India every year. Adding to this, it’s extremely unfortunate that two-thirds of cancer cases are discovered at an advanced stage. And thus the survival rate goes very low.

The main subject for this day:

The thought of marking such a day is to encourage people nation-wide to visit government hospitals, CGHS(Central Government Health Scheme) and municipal clinics for the free screening of the disease. Dr Harsh Vardhan suggested that if early detection is possible, primary treatment can be given at a fraction of the cost of cancer treatment if detected at an advanced stage. If people are screened as soon as the initial symptoms appear, the death rate from cancer will also be significantly reduced. Thus, in order to spread awareness, information booklets were widely circulated in which it was clearly stated how to avoid getting cancer and about the early symptoms of cancer.

So, encourage your family, friends and neighbors to check whether it is cancer if any symptoms develop. This is a wide request. Cancer is no longer an incurable disease, but its cost is sky-high. And so early detection can also help reduce that money-related stress.