A report in The Lancet underscores an alarming reality: Cancer is becoming a major public-health crisis, especially for low- and middle-income countries, including India. Cases of cancer in the country have risen from 84.8 per 1,00,000 people in 1990 to 107.2 per 1,00,000 in 2023. This means nearly 1.5 million people are diagnosed with cancer annually. Cancer mortality has increased from 71.7 per 1,00,000 in 1990 to 86.9 per 1,00,000 in 2023, translating to around 12.1 lakh yearly deaths. India’s cancer burden is becoming heavier, resulting in a system grappling with late diagnoses, uneven access to care, and, in certain cases, avoidable complications. Even though cancer incidence and the mortality rate remain lower than the global average, the pace of growth, set against an expanding and

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