One in every ten Indians will develop cancer during their lifetime: World Health Organisation

The World Health Organisation has released a shocking report on World Cancer day which states that one out of every 10Indians will develop cancer during their lifetime and one in 15 will die of the disease.

According to the report, there are around 1.16 million new cancer cases and nearly 8 lakh cancer deaths every year in India.

The country also has 2.26 million cases of the disease which are five years old. In India, 7,84,800 cancer patients died in 2018.

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The country's cancer burden will continue to increase as a result of the continuing epidemiological transition and the maximum increment will occur in the most populous and least developed states, where the current cancer treatment facilities are grossly inadequate, the report stated.

Reportedly, the average age for breast cancer in India is almost a decade lower than that in the West. More Indian women die from cervical cancer than any country in the world and cancer now kills more than double the Indians it did in 1990.

Interestingly, India spends over 1 per cent of its GDP on public healthcare butthe system is overcrowded and underfunded.

As per the report, the overall cancer cases in the world are expected to rise by 60 per cent by 2040 and tobacco use would be responsible for 25 per cent of cancer deaths.

The world already has about one in six deaths is due to cancer which is the second leading cause of death globally.