National Cancer Awareness Day: Top leaders urge citizens to raise awareness on cancer

To mark National Cancer Awareness Day, Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, Chief Minister Of Tripura, Biplab Kumar Deb, and other leaders encouraged people to "practice a healthy lifestyle to prevent cancer" and "spread public awareness about the deadly illness disease."

On Sunday, Assam Chief Minister Sarma asked people to play a key role in spreading public awareness about cancer, which he described as a "dreaded disease."  Sarma stated on National Cancer Awareness Day that the state government had prioritised cancer treatment through a number of measures, including the establishment of the Assam Cancer Care Foundation.

'On #NationalCancerAwarenessDay, let us all play our part in raising public awareness about the dreaded disease. Prioritising cancer care, we’ve already taken multiple initiatives, including setting up of #AssamCancerCareFoundation, to ensure treatment in every corner of Assam,' Biswa wrote on Koo.

Tripura CM Biplab Kumar Deb also took to Koo and wrote, 'This national Cancer Awareness Day, let us pledge to practice a healthy lifestyle to prevent cancer and also spread awareness on early detection of cancer as it can be helpful in reducing further risks.'

Meanwhile, Goa CM Dr Pramod Sawant stated, 'The #NationalCancerAwarenessDay highlights the increased awareness about cancer prevention and early detection. Let us pledge to create more awareness for the detection & cure of cancer and care for a better life.'

National Cancer Awareness Day

Every year on November 7, India commemorates National Cancer Awareness Day to increase awareness about cancer, which affects 1.1 million people in the country each year. National Cancer Awareness Day was first announced in September 2014 by then-Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan, with November 7 chosen as the date to mark the anniversary of Nobel laureate Marie Curie's birth anniversary, who was born on this date in 1867 and whose research led to the development of radiotherapy to treat cancer.

Cancer is the biggest cause of death worldwide, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), with approximately 10 million deaths in 2020. Last year, cancer of the lungs, colon and rectum, liver, stomach, and breast was the most common cause of death related to the disease.

(With inputs from ANI)

Image: PTI/Shutterstock