'Half a million people die due to cancer every year in India'

May 10, 2016 20:52

Half a million people die of cancer annually in the country due to lack of proper mechanism to identify the disease and necessary medical facilities to treat the terminal illness, V K Subburaj, Secretary Department of Pharmaceuticals, said today.

Delivering a lecture at CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in Hyderabad, Subburaj said there are only 20,000 beds available for treatment of "psychiatric problems" against the requirement of 10 million.

"Every year one million cancer cases are identified. Half of them die even before the disease is identified or diagnosed. We should focus (on) developing science and technology that would help reduce cost for the patients," he said.

"Cancer cases and cardiovascular cases are killing our economy (in terms of treatment cost)," he said in his lecture titled "Drugs and Diseases: An Indian Overview".

« Back to LIVE

TOP STORIES

Champions of investor trust: 10 stocks with institutional seal of approval

'15 seconds, and Owaisis wouldn't know...': BJP's Rana

Rana's blistering attack came in response to AIMIM MLA Akbaruddin Owaisi's controversial speech in 2013 that it would take them only '15 minutes' to balance the 'Hindu- Muslim ratio' in the country if the police were removed.

Haryana crisis: Oppn approaches guv, steps up efforts to topple BJP govt

'It is evident that the BJP govt in Haryana no longer commands a majority,' former Deputy Chief Minister and JJP leader Dushyant Chautala said in his letter to the governor on Wednesday.

Air India Express cabin crew call off strike; no sacking of staffers

Both parties will discuss the issues and there will be a meeting again on May 28, he said.

Pune court likely to pronounce verdict in Dabholkar murder case today

Additional sessions judge A A Jadhav of the special court for cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is likely to pronounce the judgement on Friday, said special public prosecutor Prakash Suryawanshi.