guntur american oncology institute aoi a chain of cancer hospitals founded by a team of leading oncologists at the university of pittsburgh medical centre upmc in the us organised a 4k walkathon in the city on the occasion of world cancer day on monday district medical and health officer dr j yasmin flagged off the walkathon at ntr stadium the denizens of the city took part in the walkathon holding placards and banners the walk began at ntr stadium and passed through lakshmipuram junction koritepadu road vidya nagar to culminate again at the ntr stadium addressing the gathering aoi medical director dr n subbarao said that more than 12 lakh people are estimated to be diagnosed with cancer this year in india earlier one out of every five cancer patients in the world was an indian now one out of every four is a cancer patient from india sedentary lifestyle rising obesity and pollution levels smoking and consumption of tobacco and alcohol and changing dietary habits are some of the reasons for higher incidence said dr subbarao cancer is on the rise in andhra pradesh and india it is important to address the menace of growing incidence of cancer with urgency and in a coordinated manner with due emphasis on prevention timely diagnosis and effective treatment increased awareness about cancer is imperative as it results in timely detection which is very important in cancer patients as it can prevent death through this initiative we need to address the barriers which is critical to educate the public on the importance of screening and seek doctors advice on time said dr subbarao dmho dr jasmine observed that the prevailing scenario can be reversed through education and adoption of better prevention strategies she said that about half of all cancers can be prevented through healthy living such as eating more vegetables fruit and fibre moving more and sitting less maintaining a healthy body weight not smoking and drinking less alcohol she said that finding cancer early almost always makes it easier to treat or even cure it is a need for a commitment to help drive advancements in cancer particularly in states like ours where we have a lot of people with insufficient resources i appreciate the commendable efforts of american oncology institute which is committed in its endeavour towards raising awareness inspiring all of us to act against the worlds most deadly disease said dr yasmin dr upendranath nimmagadda president nri academy of sciences and dr mani akkineni treasurer nri academy of sciences and dharmarao akkireddi were also present