Agartala: Tripura has launched a month-long campaign to raise awareness about breast cancer and promote prevention.Breast cancer accounts for 14.4% of all cancer cases among women in Tripura, affecting about one in 123 women — the second-highest rate in the northeast after Manipur’s 15.4%, according to the North-East cancer report. Only 28.4% of cases were detected at a localised stage, while 58.2% involved distant metastasis, the report said.The campaign includes workshops, consultations with healthcare providers and Asha workers, seminars at medical and paramedical institutions, media talk shows, social media outreach and awareness programmes with panchayat representatives and other local officials, health secretary Kiran Gitte said.Community health officers and auxiliary nurse midwives will conduct outreach in villages during Village Health and Nutrition Days. Jhpiego, an international, non-profit health organisation affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, is providing technical support to improve awareness, prevention, early detection and treatment services, Gitte said.India recorded an estimated 237,231 new breast cancer cases and 96,100 deaths in 2024. The disease accounted for about 30.4% of all cancers diagnosed among women. Data from the ICMR Tripura Population-Based Cancer Registry for 2012–2016 show that breast cancer remains a major health challenge in the state.Tripura is expanding access through District Day Care Cancer Centres, which provide oral chemotherapy and are strengthening oral and intravenous chemotherapy services.The state also aims to strengthen screening for women aged 30 and above, improve awareness of warning signs, ensure completion of referrals and diagnostic tests, and promote stage-appropriate treatment, patient navigation, psychosocial care and palliative support, Gitte said.
