Video by Nadiya Shafi | Text by Sajad Rasool |04 February, 2016
Abdul Gani Lone (65) has spent decades of his life in the Leper colony of Srinagar along with dozens of other leprosy patients who live in this residential hospital located on the banks of Nigeen Lake of Srinagar. Lone was diagnosed of Gastric Malignancy at Sheri Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura Srinagar.
The patients living in this colony live in abject poverty and often don’t get much support from the Government.
According to different reports, there has been an upsurge in the number of Cancer patients in Kashmir in the last 25 Years. According to the Experts the delays in curative treatment add to the increasing deaths.
Data available on the website of Indian Cancer Journal, a total of 24768 patients with malignancy to RCC SKIMS from 2000-2012 have been reported. The highest number of Patients fall in the age group of 65-69 (3254).
According to the epidemiological studies, 80-90 % of cancers are due to environmental factors of which , life style related factors are the most important and preventable.
