13 lakh Indians contract cancer every year— according to the Globocan 2020 report by Global Cancer Observatory. Estimates suggest that by 2035-2040, one out of three Indians will be a cancer patient. Sounds alarming, right? Yes, cancer among Indians is increasing gradually, and the rate of increase is more than that of other diseases. Though these data and estimates might scare you, there are reasons to be optimistic. Cancer can be cured and even prevented. With the advent of medical technology, new treatments are also becoming available to the common man, and some are already available in the city of Kolkata itself.

The Telegraph online recently spoke with three eminent oncologists from the city. They discussed Common cancer symptoms across different types, preventive measures to reduce risk, and the latest advancements in cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Dr. Sandip Ganguly, who is a Senior Consultant of Medical Oncology at Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals Kolkata, spoke about the symptoms of cancer which, if paid heed to, can help cure cancer. “Unexplained cough, prolonged mouth infection, swelling in breast, uterine or vaginal bleeding, unexplained weight loss, physical weakness or unexplained fever are the symptoms of cancer. One must consult a physician if he/She is having any of these ”, he advised.

Senior Consultant of Medical Oncology at Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals Kolkata, Dr. Joydeep Ghosh detailed about how screening can help prevent cancer. He said, “Although, not all cancers can be screened, but for the most common ones like breast, colon, prostate, cervical and lung, screening can be effective. Methods like Mammography for breast cancer, combination stool occult blood test and colonoscopy, for colon cancer, blood test for prostate cancer, and low-dose CT scan for lung cancer detection can be performed. The screening must be done from a certain age onwards and is imperative in families having a history of cancer.” “The cure rate is more if cancer is detected early”, he said.

Dr Bivas Biswas, Senior Consultant Medical Oncologist at Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals Kolkata, Kolkata, briefed about the next steps after the detection of cancer. He said, “Stage 1 to stage 3 of cancer can be cured. There are multiple methods for cancer treatment like surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy, of which a combination of all of these is very common nowadays.” Chemotherapy is talked about a lot, and people often seem to be afraid of its side effects. Dr. Biswas said that now, advanced medicines are available that help reduce these side effects.

During this long discourse, Dr Sandip Ganguly also talked about the advanced techniques of Targeted Therapy, which targets abnormally functioning genes to cure cancer. “Stage 4 lung cancer patients can comfortably live for four to five more years by undergoing this therapy. With this, even breast and ovarian cancer patients can live longer”, he said.

2015 onwards, another treatment method has come into the foray, which is immunotherapy. “Immunotherapy is a type of medicine which is injected into the body with saline, in the same way, as the one used for chemotherapy. It has become the primary type of treatment for stage 4 cancer patients. Immunotherapy helps the immune system to kill cancer cells. It is more effective than chemotherapy and at times done in combination with chemotherapy. It has proven effective in the treatment of lung and kidney cancer”, said Dr. Joydeep Ghosh. “Not all cancers though can be treated with immunotherapy”, Dr Ghosh added.

He also spoke about another new type of treatment, which is Car T-cell therapy, which activates the body’s immune cells against the cancer antigen. “This therapy has proven most effective in the treatment of blood cancer”, he said.

All of the three that of spoke with seemed to be very optimistic about cancer treatment. Dr. Ghosh noted that the next 5-10 years are very crucial for the advancement of cancer treatment. Dr. Biswas mentioned that all these screening, treatment facilities and advanced diagnostic tools are available at the Apollo Multispeciality hospitals Kolkata in Kolkata.

For any health related queries, contact Apollo:

Emergency No.: 1066

Helpline No.: 03344202122

Email ID: infokolkata@apollohospitals.com

This article has been produced on behalf of Apollo Multispeciality Hospitals Kolkata by ABP Digital Brand Studio.