Screening at home effective; let's take guard against cancer

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The door-to-door screening conducted by the health workers has indicated that the possibility of cancer is increasing. One panchayat each in the 140 constituencies of the state was selected for this purpose.

Lifestyle diagnostic screening began among those over 30 years of age. The possibility of cancer was found in 59,169 people (8.14%) out of the 7,26,633 people tested. 8614 are prone to have uterine cancer while 47,549 are prone to have breast cancer. The possibility of oral cancer was found in 3006 people. These suspected cases have been referred to hospitals for confirmation.

As many as 1.52 lakh are prone to get any chronic non-communicable diseases. The screening was done as part of the campaign 'Alap Shraddha, Guaranteed Health'. So many people were tested within five weeks. Screening has been completed in Chingoli and Kanjikuzhi panchayats of Alappuzha.

People with other diseases

• Hypertension: 82,943 (11.41%)
• Diabetes: 64,564 (8.9%)
• Both these 29,696 (4.09)
• Tuberculosis 8982 (1.23%)

Screening objective

• Disease control through exercise and diet
• Preventive measures for those who are likely to get the disease
• Early detection and cure of cancer
• Make a large population free from disease