RESUMEN
Background: Cancer has become one of the major threats to public health in the developed world and increasingly in the developing world. Cancer rates in India are lower than those seen in western countries, but are rising with increasing migration, increase in life expectancy and changes in lifestyles. This study was planned to elicit the presence of risk factors for cancer in a rural community and to assess the awareness of people about risk factors of cancers. Methods and Material: This cross sectional study was conducted in a randomly chosen block in district Dehradun. Overall 1731 people were interviewed by trained personnel and data was entered and analysed in SPSS software (21.0 versions). Results: Overall 9.7 % respondents reported presence of the warning symptoms of different cancers. Regular smokers were 7.3% (16.3 % males and 1.4 % females), while 8.3 % respondents (males-18.6%, females-1.4%) accepted regular use of smokeless tobacco. 87 % of the surveyed people had the knowledge that cancer can be prevented by changing the lifestyle. Conclusions: Increasing incidence of various cancers is of concern to the public health. In developing countries like ours, preventive programs should be directed towards masses with focus on behaviour change communication.