HTLS 2024: Dr Ash K Tewari explains how diabetes, bad diet contribute to cancer

On the final day of the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2024, cancer surgeon Dr Ash K Tewari spoke about the importance of regulating one’s diet and metabolism in the fight against cancer. In a session on the cancer battle in India, Dr Tewari talked about the growing cases of prostate cancer in India, the effect of pollution on the disease, and how it can be combatted.
Dr Ash K Tewari, professor, System Chair of Urology ICAHN School of Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital & Director of the Center of Excellence for Prostate Cancer, was in conversation with Sanchita Sharma, Senior Communications Officer, WHO India at HTLS 2024, where he spoke about the prevalence of cancer in India. “Every year, 18 million are diagnosed with cancer. One in 5 know someone with cancer. We lose 9 million people to the disease every year,” he said.
As Sanchita Sharma asked Dr Tewari about the effect of pollution and smoking has on pollution and how India has combatted it. “There are things we have done to make a dent in cancer. One of them is something every Indian knows about – smoking. It is one of the main reasons why cancer can happen in the lungs and many other parts of the body, including prostate,” Dr Tewari replied.
However, he added that there are a lot of other things that Indians take lightly. “There are many other things we don’t pay attention that can play a big role in reducing cancer. That is our metabolic habits, diet, managing obesity, and diabetes,” he added, saying, “A diabetic or metabolic body is slightly inflamed and in such a body, everything goes to the extreme.”
Dr Tewari also spoke about the growing rate of prostate cancer in India. “The good news is that it is 95% curable if we find it in time. That ‘in time’ is the discussion in India. In US, 90% are curable, in India 50-50,” he added.