The state government is stepping up the war against cancer by increasing awareness campaigns, after recent statistics revealed that women have overtaken men as sufferers.

A health department study reveals that of 9,000 new cases of cancer reported in the city every year, 55 per cent of the victims are women. Two-thirds of these new patients die within the next few years, as they approach a doctor in the advanced stages of the disease.

“We have found that neglect on the part of the family and ignorance are the primary reasons behind the rise in cancer cases, even among educated people,” explains cancer specialist Saroj Gupta. There have even been cases, according to Gupta, where doctors’ wives have been unwilling to seek medical help for a lump in the breast.

Cancer of the breast and cervix lead the list of cancer cases in women, followed by the lungs and gall bladder.

Research has shown that women are hesitant to speak to their husbands or parents about physical problems. But, in many cases, even if the family is aware of health problems, they ignore it till it is too late for a doctor to intervene with any success, says oncosurgeon Gautam Mukhopadhyay.

Officials said on Tuesday that the health department was seeking help from cancer survivors’ support groups and social workers to spread awareness about cancer. “The focus will now shift to preventive oncology from post-diagnosis treatment,” explained Subir Gangopadhyay, head of the radiotherapy department at Medical College and Hospital. “We have decided to start free counselling and guidance for female patients three days a week,” he said.

Medical College and Hospital and two private hospitals will run awareness centres where women can go for more information on the disease. A booklet on the dos and don’ts of cancer and the risk factors will be distributed from these points.

Voluntary organisations and cancer support groups like Oncolink, Fight Cancer and Friends Foundation of Asia met on Monday at Medical College and Hospital to formulate common guidelines for counselling.