SVICCAR Expands New Prevention Initiatives in Tirupati

Over the past three years, the Tirupati region has witnessed a quiet but alarming health crisis: a 175% surge in new cancer patient registrations. With total registrations jumping from 2,556 in late 2022 to over 7,000 by the end of 2025, the cancer burden is hitting local families harder than ever. Actual confirmed cancer diagnoses have more than doubled, going from 1,437 to 3,413 in the same period, with nearly 11,000 confirmed cases recorded since mid-2022.

A significant portion of this surge is fueled by a deeply normalized local habit: the consumption of gutkha and smokeless tobacco. Inexpensive, easily accessible, and smokeless, it is consumed casually across farms and shops to fight hunger and exhaustion. Because the habit is so deeply ingrained, early warning signs like a painless white patch in the mouth are routinely ignored until swallowing becomes painful, or the voice turns hoarse, often leaving patients at an advanced stage of the disease.

Speaking on the growing crisis, Dr Prasanth, Medical Director SVICCAR, a unit of Tata Cancer Care Foundation, supported by the Tata Trusts, stated, "The data clearly shows a growing cancer burden in Tirupati and its surrounding areas. While a 60% increase in registrations since 2023 is serious, it also reflects increased awareness and a willingness to seek timely medical evaluation. Our mission is to provide world-class, evidence-based cancer care right here, so patients do not have to travel to distant cities.

Through our extensive community outreach programs, we are actively taking cancer screening to the grassroots, sensitizing communities against the dangers of tobacco, and empowering local doctors and frontline health workers with the training needed for early detection. We are building a complete ecosystem of care that focuses on both prevention and healing.” Fortunately, having this advanced cancer facility right here in Tirupati is changing lives, ensuring patients no longer have to spend their savings traveling to distant metro cities for survival. At SVICCAR, local families now have access to a full circle of care, offering everything from expert surgery and chemotherapy to advanced radiation therapy and dedicated pain relief.