Kashmir sitting on cancer time bomb

Dietary habits, change in lifestyle main cause: Experts

With a large number of deaths occurring due to different kinds of cancers in Valley every year, it seems Kashmir is virtually sitting on ticking cancer time bomb.

The experts believe that drastic change in lifestyle of Kashmiris over the years is the main cause of cancer disease in valley.

According to Dr Tariq and Hakim Sonaulla, Oncologist at cancer hospital in Baramulla, “The seven most common types of cancer in men are of Oesophagus, lungs, stomach, skin, upper respiratory tract, and urinary tract. In women, the most common types of cancer are oesophagus, breast, cervix, stomach, skin, colon/rectum, and lungs.”

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They said that cancer of the oesophagus is the most common in both men and women.

“Oesophagus cancer accounts for 42.9 per cent of all types of cancer in the valley,” they said. “This cancer type is strikingly different from that in the rest of India where Oropharyngeal cancer is the most common form.”

They said contrary to the trend in India as a whole, cervical cancer is not a leading type of cancer in the valley and is less frequent even than cancer of the breast in the women.

Pertinently, according to a survey conducted in year 2010, the incidence rates for oesophageal and gastric cancer in Baramulla are 4.1 to 5.4 times higher in men and 1.5 to 2.0 times higher in women than those in Kupwara.

Interestingly, the incidence rates for oesophageal and gastric cancer in Muslims, Hindus, and Sikhs are different. The epidemiology of oesophageal cancer in Kashmir is similar to that found in the 'Asian oesophageal cancer belt'. At the same time Kashmir also has an unprecedented high incidence of gastric cancer.

“Kashmiris have special personal and dietary habits and this is also a main cause of wide variety of cancers prevailing in the valley,” says Dr Tariq.

Besides traditional food habits, intake of Kashmiri tea known as noon-chai (salt tea) that contains sodium bicarbonate, is also being held responsible for a spurt in number of stomach and food pipe cancers.

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Till October 2010, 316 cases of lung cancer have been registered at Sher- Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS). There were 363 cases reported in 2009 and the number of such patients was 265 in 2008.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer found in women at this time and this cancer is on alarming rise in women.

The problem is coupled with the growing problem of late marriages and high prevalence of bottle-feeding mostly by the working mothers.

Smoking has also taken its toll among the males in the Kashmir Valley with the highest number of lung cancer cases being reported in the state so far this year.

"Lung cancer is mostly caused by smoking, all types of smoking, but 90 per cent lung cancer cases are caused by cigarettes," said Dr Tariq.

Dr Tariq said pickles, which are not preserved properly, very hot tea and the sun-dried vegetables meant for consumption during the harsh winters in the valley, can also cause lung cancer.

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Pickles, hot tea, dried vegetables can also cause cancer.

Lung, Oesophagus, Stomach, Breast cancers becoming more common.

      

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