National Cancer Awareness Day is otherwise known as Cancer Eradication Day which is observed on the 7th of November every year in India.
The day itself says that Cancer Awareness, so it is the celebration of awareness throughout our country to stop cancer providing the appropriate knowledge to the people about it.
This day also coincides with the birthday anniversary of the famous scientist Madame Curie.
History of this day:
In India, National Cancer Awareness Day was first celebrated on 7th November 2014. Dr Harsh Vardhan (Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare) had declared on 19th September 2014 that this Cancer Awareness Day will be celebrated on 7th November every year.
First, it is observed in the same year of declaration i.e. in 2014 November 7. It aimed to aware people of this dreadful disease avoiding cancer-causing agents and detecting it early to provide a better cure.
If you ask, why this day? then as I inform you before, it coincides with the birthday anniversary of the scientist Marie Curie who got the Noble Prize in physics & in chemistry in the year 1911.
Its historical significance is that, she is well known for Radioactivity, discoveries of Radium & Polonium and her immense contribution to fight against cancer by developing nuclear energy and radiotherapy which is very helpful for the treatment of cancer.
Health awareness programme in India concerning cancer i.e. national cancer control programme was started in 1975 with a vision of providing better cancer treatment facilities in our country. Then in the year 1984-85 modified and put stress on prevention and early detection of cancer.
All about cancer (Things to know)
Cancer is a genetic and non-communicable disease which results from the improper activity of growth-promoting genes that are less active or completely inactive in normal cells. It is a growth disorder of cells in which cells start to grow in an invasive & uncontrolled way.
Resulting in the formation of a cluster of cells known as a tumour that incessantly enlarges in size. Cells that leave the tumour form new tumours at distant sites and ultimately it spread throughout the body
Tumours are nodule like clusters of cancerous cells which may be defined as 2 types,
Benign tumours: these types of tumours are enclosed in connective tissue and remain localised to a specific part of the body’s tissue.
Malignant tumours: these tumours grow fast in size and do not localise to the actual place or tissue. Metastasis is the word to use for spreading of cancer cells in different sites of the body.
Different types of Cancer:
There are approximately 100 types of cancer we may categorise according to the respective site, tissue and organ. But it is broadly divided into 3 main pathological types. They are,
1. Carcinomas: if malignant growth occurs in the epithelial tissue i.e. in covering of the body organs, is referred to a carcinoma. Example: cancer of lung, liver, oral, cervix, breast, stomach, pancreas, skin etc.
2. Sarcomas: malignant growth developing in the tissues which are mesodermal in origins known as sarcomas. Example: cancer of the bone, lymph nodes, muscle tumours etc.
3. Leukaemia: it arises from the unrestrained rapid growth of WBC (White Blood Corpuscles) present in blood and their contaminations in the bone marrow. It is known as blood cancer where the number of WBC increases very much.
In certain cases, highly malignant tumours may develop from primary embryonic tissue in children which results in tumours in the cerebellum, eye and kidney.
Cancer-causing factors:
It is noticed that some chemicals are associated with cancer, particularly which are effective mutagens (able to induce changes in DNA). Several man-made chemicals have been shown adequate to causing cancer, e.g. arsenic, acrylamide, benzene, trichloroethylene & few complex petroleum products.
Ultraviolet radiation may cause mutations (chromosomal/DNA changes) which leads to skin cancer damaging DNA. Unhealthy diets and physically inactiveness also be the factors.
Tobacco consumption in the form of bidies, cigarettes, by chewing & some inhale it through the nose is a very serious factor of causing cancer. Tobacco contains Benzopyrene which is a cancerogenic agent.
You know in India every year 1 million people die due to tobacco-related diseases; from them 5 lakhs cancer cases are tobacco-related. Due to tobacco smoking, p53 gene becomes inactive who restricts cancer growth in our body.
A large dose of highly concentrated alcohol consumption leads to swelling of gastric mucosa and the person may become the victim of peptic ulcers & gastric carcinoma. Alcohol is also responsible for liver failure, hepatitis and liver cancer.
Cancer signs:
Below there is a list of some danger signals which one should know and in case of necessity seeks doctor’s advice to cure soon.
- Lose of body weight without any specific cause.
- No cure of wound for a long period of time.
- Irregular dysentery.
- Changes appear in the mole.
- Cough remains for a long time.
- Lump in the body part becoming stronger.
- Abnormal blood loss during menstrual period in ladies.
- Changes in bowel movement.
- Difficulty eating and feeling full quickly etc.
Cancer diagnosis & its treatment:
Here are the methods for diagnosis of cancer,
- Detailed inspection of the blood sample.
- Biopsy of the liquids and tissues from suspected areas of the body.
- Methods like radiography (X-rays), CT & MRI.
If it is detected earlier then high chance to cure soon completely. But late detection raises the problems of cancer.
Some chemicals help to prohibit the spreading of cancer like angiostatin and endostatin. Let us take a look at some therapies of cancer treatment,
- Chemotherapy
- Radiotherapy
- Surgical removal of the tumour
- Immunotherapy
Cancer Awareness message for the public
Gaining knowledge all about cancer will be very much helpful for us. Then only we can take the appropriate preventive measures for awareness of cancer.
As we know that prevention is better than cure, preventions like,
- Maintain a healthy body weight,
- Follow a healthy diet,
- Be physically active (by doing yoga, exercises & playing outdoor games),
- Do not use tobacco and alcohol &
- Go for a health check-up in case of any doubt etc.
Especially I request you all to say no to tobacco and alcohol because these are like a slow poison which disturbs our normal body functions gradually and are stands for the main cause of many acute diseases.
Why we waste our money buying diseases from it, worrying family members and harming our own body? So, let us enjoy our life positively discarding all the negative addictions.
Summary: Cancer Awareness Day 2021
On this national cancer awareness day be aware and be very thankful to the scientist Madame Curie for her contribution in the field of cancer treatment. Due to cancer in India and other countries, people are suffering and ultimately lost their valuable life.
Know all about cancer and follow all the preventive measures to be healthy & safe. So, wishing you all national cancer awareness day and let us be the part of awareness, sharing #NationalCancerAwarenessDay on social media.
So, this is the complete information about this day and I hope you got all the things and information for which you are looking for. If you like this then don’t forget to share it with your friends and families.
Also, if you are interested to know more i.e. on National Childhood Cancer Awareness day & about breast cancer awareness then simply do comment on the comment section. We definitely try to add this to our new article.
Thank you.
FAQs on National Cancer Awareness Day:
1. What are the normal signs of cancer?
Loss of body weight without any specific cause, irregular dysentery, no cure of wound for a long time, change in the size of the mole, lump in the body becoming stronger, cough remain for a long time, unusual emitting of blood etc.
Doctors’ advice that each one should test his health perfectly in case of any doubt according to the symptoms.
2. On which date the National Cancer Awareness Day’ was observed?
National Cancer Awareness Day was first celebrated on 7th November 2014, after that on the same date it has been observed per year.
3. What students can do to create awareness of tobacco leads to cancer?
On the occasion of National Cancer Awareness Day, 4th Feb World Cancer Day & on 31st may World No Tobacco Day they can organise a rally in their respective areas awarding people about the harmful effects of tobacco leading to cancer.
Personally, they can spread the message of awareness about cancer to their family members, relatives & friends and make them understand to avoid tobacco for which they may face the dreadful disease cancer.
4. What is your opinion on awareness about tobacco and cancer?
About 1 million people die due to tobacco-related diseases and the main cause of spreading cancer are tobacco, zarda, bidi, gutkha, wine, drugs intake etc. So, let you and me be the member of making a tobacco-free environment awaring people about this disease.
Let’s cast off all these unnecessary habits to be healthy and to lead our life healthy.
Eat good, be good and Do good.