JHARKHAND: Lalita Devi, who had turned 79 on this February 1, 2024, died in early hours of Thursday, surrounded by family members. She had been fighting of multiples recurrences of the disease after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which was first diagnosed in Oct 2022. She also had internal infections in gallbladders, liver and other align organs.
She was treated in Delhi at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital respectively since November 2022 and had some sort of improvements in her health conditions. However, in January this year, she was fall ill with fever which was continue until her death.
She left 2 daughters Satya Mishra, Sarita Dubey, and sons Arun Tiwari and Anuj Tiwari along with husband Bishwanath Tiwari behind.
In a shocking recent study published in the British Medical Journal (Oncology) has highlighted a startling 79 per cent increase in new cancer cases among individuals under the age of 50 over the past three decades on a global scale.
The study, which examined data from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease report encompassing 29 different types of cancer across 204 countries and regions, including India, found that the number of cancer patients under 50 surged from 1.82 million in 1990 to a staggering 3.26 million in 2019. However, what’s even more worrisome is that the corresponding deaths due to these cancers increased by 28 per cent during the same period.
Between 1990 and 2019, early-onset windpipe and prostate cancers rose annually at an estimated 2.28 per cent and 2.23 per cent, respectively, while early-onset liver cancer showed a decline by approximately 2.88 per cent. Dr. Randhir Sud, Chairman of Medanta Institute of Digestive and Hepatobiliary Sciences, attributed the decline in liver cancer to the introduction of Hepatitis B vaccination in the universal immunization program. However, he cautioned that the increasing incidence of non- alcoholic fatty liver disease could potentially reverse these gains.
Dr. Devi Shetty, Chairman of Narayana Health, is of the view that increased awareness and the availability of diagnostic tools have contributed to the rise in reported cancer cases in countries like India. He also mentioned that environmental factors such as pollution, dietary habits, and reduced physical activity could not be disregarded as potential contributors to this surge.
Breaking down the specifics, the study revealed that breast cancer constituted the largest number of early-onset cases among those under 50 in 2019. However, cancers of the windpipe (nasopharynx) and prostate exhibited the most significant increase since 1990.
Considering the trends observed over the past few decades, researchers predict that the global number of new early-onset cancer cases and associated deaths could surge by an additional 31 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively, by the year 2030. Individuals in their 40s are particularly vulnerable to this alarming trend.