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23 August 2024

‘Nothing more to life here’: Residents in this Indian village have been consumed by cancer

Ishan Garg & Louisa Tang

GANGNAULI, India: What looks like any other North Indian village hides a sinister statistic.

Gangnauli, located in Uttar Pradesh state about two hours from the capital New Delhi, is home to a population ravaged by cancer.

Locals estimate that about a third of its roughly 5,000 residents have the disease, although there is no official data to confirm this.

Vipin Rathee, who is among the affected patients, was diagnosed with a malignant tumour in his stomach two years ago. His health has been on a steady decline even after eight rounds of chemotherapy.

His resources have now been exhausted after paying for medical care.

“I’m seeing most of the villagers here facing the same problem. People have spent a lot of money on medical treatments and expenditure continues to this day. There’s really no help here from anyone,” he told CNA.

A report – released earlier this year by Indian multinational healthcare group Apollo Hospitals – dubbed India the cancer capital of the world, projecting that it could record roughly 1.6 million new cancer cases by next year.

According to government data, the country recorded about 1.4 million new cases in 2022.

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