Cancer is a curable disease that can turn terminal when presented for treatment in its later stages. While it is a non-communicable illness, many factors contribute to its prevalence including genetics, lifestyle and exposure to toxic waste. Social work involves helping individuals, families and communities to improve their overall well-being to enhance social functioning (Healy, 2014). Oncology social workers help patients and their families cope with the distress brought on by cancer from its onset to the treatment or terminal stage (Mostert, 2017). Social workers in the Dakshina Kannada area, therefore, must create awareness on the causes of various cancers, their advancement and treatment to increase the current cancer survival rate (Mostert, 2017; National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research, 2017). This paper reviews the cancer awareness levels in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka state in India to determine the levels of cancer awareness causal factors and possible solutions that social workers can use to solve the issues this raises.