Spurt in cancer cases in Thoothukudi

THOOTHUKUDI: The Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital (TMCH) has recorded 11,140 cases of cancer between 2006 and 2009, thus emphasising the need for a detailed study on the spurt in such cases in the district. Medical experts said the reason could be attributed to a number of factors. They have been unable to come to a clear-cut conclusion about the cause behind the increase.

Data from the TMCH revealed that while the total number of cases was 2,659 in 2006, the graph climbed to 3,942 in 2007 and to 4,539 in 2008. The actual figures would be higher, as many patients prefer going to private hospitals. Environmentalists blame industries in Thoothukudi for the rise in cancer cases. So far, no study has been taken up to assess this surge in the number of cases.

 While environmentalists and marine biologists in Thoothukudi have been concentrating on marine conservation, the field of cancer study has been much neglected here.

“My father lost h is life to oesophageal cancer even though he was a man of healthy habits and like many others, we consoled ourselves that anybody could get cancer,” said Sivasubramaniyan, whose father R S Subbiah Pillai, an ex-serviceman, died 10 years ago. Government Hospitalss in Thoothukudi are also not equipped with basic radiotherapy facilities.