Cancer incidence zooms doubling 1980s figures
Male and female cancers have surged in the past four decades with
health officials saying that the rates were similar to Western
countries.
According to statistics from the National Cancer Control Program (NCCP),
cancer prevalence in the country soared from 31.6 in 1995 to 70.9 in
2006 per 100,000 of the population. It also accounted for 27% of all
newly diagnosed cancers among females in 2006.
Consultant Community Physician and Co-ordinator of the NCCP
island-wide program, Dr. Suraj Perera said 80 percent of the cancers had
four risk factors identified by the World Health Organisation -
unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, alcohol and tobacco consumption.
In Sri Lanka, the causes can be traced to bad eating habits such as
consuming too much animal fat and too few vegetables which has resulted
in obesity, leading to early development of non-communicable diseases (NCD),
sedentary life styles and alcohol and tobacco consumption. This month
(October), has been declared as Breast Cancer Month by the UN. "Cancer
is responsible for 9% of all NCD deaths in Sri Lanka," Director General,
Health Services, Dr. P.G. Mahipala said. According to the WHO, Sri Lanka
ranks as the highest in NCDs in South East Asia.
According to Epidemiology reports, in 2012, it was found that
proportional mortality percentage of total deaths in all ages and both
sexes with regard to cancer was 10% and from other NCDs 10%.
"The commonest neoplasm among Sri Lankan adults is breast cancer as
evident by its age-standardised rate of 10.8 cases per 100,000 reported
in 2006. Neoplasms were also the second most common cause of deaths of
all hospital admissions in 2007," Director, National Cancer Control
Program, Dr Neelamani Paranagama told the media at the launch of
national guidelines on breast cancer management for primary care doctors
and family physicians at the Health Education Bureau on Wednesday.
- CA
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