By: Ranjan K Baruah
Diseases like cancer are challenging as individuals and families get ruined due to the same. Cancer patients face many challenges and many lose their lives or lose the battle against cancer. At the same time there are many survivors too. Cancer is a large group of diseases that can start in almost any organ or tissue of the body when abnormal cells grow uncontrollably, go beyond their usual boundaries to invade adjoining parts of the body and/or spread to other organs. The latter process is called metastasizing and is a major cause of death from cancer. A neoplasm and malignant tumours are other common names for cancer.
The cancer burden continues to grow globally, exerting tremendous physical, emotional and financial strain on individuals, families, communities and health systems. In 2021, the world crossed a sobering new threshold – an estimated 20 million people were diagnosed with cancer, and 10 million died. These numbers will continue to rise in the decades ahead. And yet all cancers can be treated, and many can be prevented or cured.
Related Posts:
The theme for this year’s World Cancer Day was “closing the care gap” which was observed on 4th February. Different activities are carried out on this day and let us also discuss a few career options related to cancer. Well, one of the best career options is to clear medical entrance and get admitted in medical colleges and later become specialists for cancer care. There are different specialisations in this field. Apart from being doctors aspirants may also study nursing and do special courses on palliative care with main focus to cancer care.
Apart from being doctors or nurses there are many other options and opportunities related to cancer care. Young people studying social work, sociology, psychology or similar subjects may also work in the cancer care avenues. Apart from purely medical tasks there are many other areas where trained and experienced persons are required. Different civil society organisations are working to raise awareness against cancer. Counselling is provided to patients and family members. One may also get engaged as a volunteer with different nongovernmental organisations or media groups which generates advocacy and raise awareness.
Palliative care runs throughout a patient’s journey from diagnosis to cure or end of life, and is designed to relieve symptoms and improve a cancer patient’s quality of life. It can be used to respond to troubling symptoms such as pain or sickness, and also to reduce or control the side effects of cancer treatments. Setting up cancer hospitals brings more opportunity to the right candidates. The YouWeCan Foundation is a non-profit organisation established by cricketer and cancer survivor Yuvraj Singh, registered under the Bombay Trust Act, 1965 and its mission is to empower all people to fight cancer, through awareness, early detection, patient support and survivor empowerment. HelpAge India provides palliative care to end-stage cancer patients in partnership with a number of credible and competent cancer hospitals and organizations. Tata Trust’s entry into cancer care dates back to 1941 when the Tata Memorial Hospital opened in Mumbai as a ‘beacon of hope for the hopeless’.
The World Health Organisation’s efforts are focused on breast cancer, now the most common cancer; cervical cancer that can be eliminated; and childhood cancer. The focus for each of these initiatives is low- and middle-income countries, where the biggest public health gains are to be made. Career options are in prevention and control, in detection, in treatment. One must be passionate to work with people to be successful in this field. Mere qualifications or degrees may not help if the aspirant does not possess life skills and other employability skills. One needs to have patience when dealing with patients or their families. Effective communication is important to pass the right message in the right way. One gets an opportunity to bring changes in someone’s life so the aspirant must be skilled and dedicated to the cause. (The author is a career mentor and skill trainer and can be reached at 8473943734 or bkranjan@gmail.com for further queries)
