Things revolving around cancer in Kashmir are not encouraging; rather they would be more disheartening keeping in view the pace of changes around us. The pattern of food intake has changed; the contents of the food itself have changed and are changing drastically with every passing day. There is a rise in the salt content in food in addition to other elements which are meant to make food attractive and tasty, but in the long run end up messing with the metabolism of the body, giving birth to cancers of various sorts. Furthermore, there are several dyes used by the food industry which are leaning towards being harmful to the human body. The list is long and all meet at a point where they end up affecting humans in one way or the other.
That was about food. Then there are cancers caused by the pollutants which are released into the air. There used to be a belief that the air in Kashmir infuses new life in the body—and the same was true—however, things are changing there too. As per experts, J&K has the highest burden of lung cancers in the country—strange, no? It might be strange, but it is the reality that must be accepted and the policy decisions must be taken aimed at making the necessary interventions to reverse the trend, both in cancers caused by food and the deteriorating air quality.
An upward trend in the incidence of cancer in Kashmir is not a good sign at all. It underlines that there is something wrong, and the population is not healthy. The response to such a kind of situation has to be calculated and focused. First, there is a need to go for more research—wider with increased sample size—to get to know the exact burden of the disease as well as the reasons behind it with more strong scientific backing. Based on those findings, the policymakers must ensure the right and needed response in terms of increased screening and effective management of known cases. On top of everything, more work needs to be done on the causes of the disease like cancer in Kashmir because that is what will hold the key to getting to know the disease and its prevention.
