India screens 146 mn women for breast cancer; health minister says 57,000 diagnosed, 50,000 receiving treatment

Over 14.6 crore women across the country have been screened for breast cancer and 57,184 were diagnosed with the disease while 50,612 are receiving treatment, Union Health Minister J P Nadda said on Friday.

Citing the national NCD portal data, he said in a written response to a question in Lok Sabha that more than nine crore women have been screened for cervical cancer out of which 96,747 were diagnosed with the disease and 86,196 are under treatment.

The National NCD Portal was rolled out by the government in 2018 under NP-NCD for non communicable diseases (NCDs) screening and management and ensuring continuum of care for five common NCDs, including breast and cervical cancer.

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In order to prevent and control major NCDs like hypertension, diabetes, oral cancer, breast cancer and cervical cancer, the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) was launched by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, in 2010 with a focus on strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, health promotion, early diagnosis, management and referral to an appropriate level of healthcare facilities.

Under the programme, 770 district NCD clinics, 233 cardiac care units (CCU), 372 district day care centres and 6410 NCD clinics at community health centres have been set up across the country.

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In Odisha, 30 district NCD clinics, 12 CCUs, 32 district day care centres and 414 community health centres have been set up, Nadda stated.

The Department of Health and Family Welfare provides technical and financial support to the states and Union Territories under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) as part of National Health Mission (NHM).

The programme focusses on strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, early diagnosis, referral to an appropriate level of healthcare facility for treatment and management and health promotion and awareness generation for prevention of NCDs, Nadda said.

Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) administer community based assessment checklist (CBAC) for all individuals of 30 years and above age group in the population. Risk assessment for NCDs is done through CBAC and all the high risk individuals are referred for screening of common NCDs as part of the comprehensive primary health care under NHM, Nadda stated.