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. Because this care is now available locally, the number of patients undergoing complex, life-saving surgeries for head and neck cancers at SVICCAR has increased dramatically, jumping from just 33 procedures in FY 22-23 to 697 in FY 25-26.
To tackle the disease at its root, the institute is launching a dedicated Tobacco Cessation Clinic to help locals break their addiction before it turns into cancer. SVICCAR is also running 20 outreach programs with 4 to 5 awareness sessions every month. SVICCAR’s outreach teams have screened 143,567 people across the region for oral, breast, and cervical cancers since the year 2020. They are also working on the ground to warn people about the dangers of tobacco, while training thousands of local healthcare workers and doctors to spot the early warning signs of cancer.
Recognizing where the risks begin, teams are conducting targeted awareness drives with local auto-rickshaw unions and specialized sessions in public schools to protect vulnerable children from picking up the habit early. The institute is also conducting a ventilation workshop.
Ultimately, protecting the community comes down to two simple things: having doctors and access to quality medical care nearby, and making healthier choices in daily lives. While care continues to expand to support local families with institutions like SVICCAR. Protection against cancer starts at home, by recognizing the dangers of tobacco before it takes a toll. With early detection and strong healthcare support, the road to recovery is closer and more hopeful than ever.