Srinagar, June 22 -- By Dr. Umer Majeed Khaja

Cancer prevention rarely begins where most people imagine.

It does not start in an oncology ward, a chemotherapy unit, or a screening camp. It starts much earlier, in the food markets people visit every day, in the spices stored on kitchen shelves, in the cooking oils used by restaurants, and in the systems that determine whether harmful contaminants ever reach a consumer's plate.

That reality holds special significance for Jammu and Kashmir.

The region faces a growing burden of gastrointestinal cancers, particularly stomach and colorectal cancers. The seriousness of the challenge prompted the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to strengthen cancer screening and prevention efforts i...