Everyone knows someone who has been affected by cancer. But few may be aware of the particularly devastating impact of head and neck cancer in the Indian subcontinent.
Head and neck cancer is now the most common cancer in developing countries1 and the most common cancer in India, constituting around a third of the total cancer burden in men2.
These statistics are worrying in themselves but even more so when combined with the fact that nearly two-thirds of head and neck cancer patients in India present when their cancer is at an advanced stage, making it harder to treat.1
Head and neck cancer doesn’t just have a devastating impact on cancer patients and those close to them. It also impacts a country’s economy. Findings in 2010 suggest that the most conservative estimate of welfare losses due to head and neck cancer in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh was US$16.9 billion (2010 USD), equivalent to 0.26% of their combined GDP. This makes it not just of human but also of economic imperative to invest in research into new head and neck cancer treatments.3
Oracle Cancer Trust is the UK’s leading charity dedicated to head and neck cancer research. Only through research can breakthroughs be made in our understanding of how to treat head and neck cancer. In recognition of the charity’s vital work in tackling India’s most common cancer, Oracle Cancer Trust has been selected as the chosen charity for this year’s Asian Achievers Awards 2018. We hope you will consider supporting the charity this year. You can find out more at www.oraclecancertrust.org or [email protected]
1 National Centre for Biotechnology Information (US) article- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4011474/
2 http://www.jaypeejournals.com/ejournals/ShowText.aspx?ID=
4236&Type=FREE&TYP=TOP&IN=_eJournals/images/JPLOGO.gif&IID=332&isPDF=YES
3 https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736%2815%2960851-0.pdf
[email protected] - www.oraclecancertrust.org
020 7922 7924
Compiled by Emma Colliver, Former Oracle Cancer Trust Head of Fundraising
