Stress causing lung cancer in Mumbai women, 4 facts you should know

Recorded cases jump from 5% to 6.3% in 2010-14; experts blame attempt to juggle work and personal life sending women to draw quick puffs as stressbuster

A number of city women blame work stress for their smoking habit. Pic for representation/AFP

The stress of having it all is killing Mumbai's women. Since 2010, lung cancer cases among city women have shot up rapidly — from less than 5% to 6.3% — to become one of the top five cancers affecting them.

4 facts to understand

>> Experts blame the rapid jump on smoking largely triggered by stress. In comparison, the rise of lung cancer among men has been consistently steady at 40%.

>> According to data collected from 132 medical institutes in Mumbai — from a survey of 1,26,02,851 people — 3.8% of 6,921 women suffering from cancer in 2014 had lung cancer.

>> The majority of them were aged 45, with the maximum age of patients touching 75.

>> Tobacco consumption was directly responsible for lung cancer in 366 women and 688 men.

Vinay Deshmane

"We have been seeing this trend (a rise in cases) since 2004, but beginning 2010, lung cancer among women has increased rapidly, whereas the growth amongst men has been consistent," said Vinay Deshmane, oncologist and medical director, Mumbai Cancer Registry, which carried out the data collection process.

Anil Sharma, cardiologist of Bombay Hospital, said he has seen an increase in the number of women with lung infections in recent years.

"This has got a lot to do with the kind of lifestyles women are leading. Juggling work, home and a personal life is not easy, which turns a number of women to smoking. We need a re-look at the entire outlook of social structure that puts so much pressure on women."

Image used for representational purpose

Gayatri (28), who works with an IT firm in the city, is proof of this 'pressure'. "I came to Mumbai two years ago, and picked up smoking six months into the job owing to the huge work stress. Smoking was a stressbuster."

Sheila Nair, director general, Indian Cancer Society, said chulhas, though, continue to be the leading cause of lung cancer among women. "With smoking becoming sort of a fad, the cases have increased. We need a proper advocacy plan and a change in the country's tobacco laws."

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