Cancer has in recent times acquired an eerie omnipresence in the minds of our countrymen as they see all kinds of personalities, big and small go down with the disease. Many of those affected, particularly those with financial muscle run abroad for treatment unreferred, by and large deluding themselves that that way they are outpacing the witty crab. Some jump from one practitioner to another, and from one centre to another in search of the solution. They are at the centre of the universe and must shake off the 'little dirt' sprinkled on them by the crab. One thing they are oblivious of is that cancer therapy is a long haul and cures are rare after four weeks of treatment abroad. The talks of 'we have cured you' are mere traps meant to entice more numbers. There are also those who resort to alternative therapies in the hope of avoiding conventional treatments for fear of their associated side effects, which is misinformed.