I don’t think there is anyone today who is unaware of the term cancer. The word has become as common in conversations as the common cold. Every village, every town, every city is witnessing cases that were once considered rare. In this article, I wish to highlight this growing concern in the context of Kashmir — where the rising cancer burden is deeply worrying. Cancer is neither age-specific nor gender-specific; it affects individuals across every age group and every section of society.

Official figures show that Jammu and Kashmir has recorded nearly 60,000–63,000 cancer cases over the last five to seven years, averaging 13,000–14,000 new cases each year — roughly 35–40 new diagnoses every day. As per available data, 2.7% of all registered cancer cases were among children below 15 years, with leukaemia (blood cancer) accounting for around 36% of childhood cancer cases.

Within Kashmir, commonly reported cancers include breast, gastrointestinal and lung cancers, along with a worrying rise in colorectal........

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