Cancer cases are increasing multifold year after year. Cancer causes terror as it enters human body stealthily, spreads fast and it is noticed and recognized at a very late stage when treatment is not at all that effective. Often one is compelled to meet with a very expensive death leaving behind an economically shattered family. Who can afford to have cancer?

The very name “cancer” is synonymous to death, and with mystery and protracted suffering. Its deadly origins are inexplicably intertwined with the secret of life itself. No part of human body is immune to cancer. It can affect all parts of human body. It can eat into nerve, muscle, bone, organs, blood and lymph glands alike.

While the modern scientific world succeeded to a great extent in containing communicable diseases like small pox, tuberculosis, cholera, etc., the degenerative diseases like cancer are increasing multi-fold. Consumerism and increasing nuclearisation may have all their own contributions in this regard, whether one believe it or not.

As there is no preventive medicine or vaccine against cancer, the damage due to cancer is not instant and the disease “cancer” is considered and classified as one of the non-communicable diseases, cancer prevention is not getting due attention and it is not considered that challenging. This causes neglect. Neglect of cancer prevention drive will prove suicidal in due course of time.

What is the need to go after miracle cures when we can take care of our health? Prevention is better than cure. Indian sages after sages taught mankind about simple living and high thinking. They taught mankind to live in harmony with nature i.e. environment. The sages were themselves living words. Mahatma Gandhi taught us that “the earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not for anybody’s greed”. We failed to understand such invaluable noble words. We always catch the shadows leaving the substances. That is the root cause for the sad plight of world and mankind of today. Unfortunately the mankind is trapped inside “the consumerism driven market economy” instead of getting liberated from it and moving fast towards an “economy of permanence”.

Degenerative diseases like cancer are more in the developed countries already trapped in the consumerism driven market economy and nuclearisation. The developing countries like India are also fast drifting towards consumerism. Added to it India and Pakistan have become Nuclear Weapon States increasing cancer risks.

There are the following sobering facts about the United States of America (USA):

? One in two men in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer at some time during his life time;

? One in three women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer at some time during her life time.

? A new cancer is diagnosed every 30 second in the U.S.;

? One in five persons in the U.S. will die from cancer; and

? Every three minutes, two people in the U.S. die from cancer.

What a sign of development! India too is moving fast towards this sort of development as cancer cases are increasing multi-fold. What a tragedy for the land of sages and invaluable knowledge’s like Ayurveda and Yoga! It needs to be understood that “health is wealth” and health is not meant for a few to make wealth out of it. Health care management has to be in the safer hands of people with altruistic values and not in the hands of people caring only money value. Hospitals and dependency on drugs are not necessarily in itself signs of good health.

If one look at the publication CANCER INCIDENCE IN FIVE CONTINENTS - VOLUME VI published in 1992 by WHO’s International Agency For Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France, the figures quoted for India are alarming. In metropolitan cities one out of 8 to 11 people can develop cancer. If figures of Bombay Cancer Registry (Metropolitan City) and Barshi Cancer Registry (Rural) are any indication, the cancer incidence rate is 35% to 43% lower in rural areas. The publication has said: “The figures may be considered quite alarming. Government, community and the individuals concerned should become aware of the high frequency of cancer in the country to stimulate the setting up of cancer control programs in India.”