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Over 9.6 million people die from cancer every year making cancer the second leading cause of death globally.
Based on the report by Malaysian Study on Cancer Survival (MySCan), cancer is the fourth leading cause of death in Malaysia, contributing to 12.6% of all deaths in government hospitals and 26.7% in private hospitals in 2016.
The Malaysia National Cancer Registry 2012-2016 published by the National Cancer Institute showed that the rate of cancer amongst Malaysians has increased from 103,507 cases recorded in the corresponding period of 2007 to 2011 to 115, 238.
What is cancer?
Cancer is a disease that occurs when there are changes in the cells in our body which causes an abnormal growth forming a lump called tumour (except for leukaemia, which is the cancer of the blood). These tumours, if left untreated, can grow and spread to other parts of the body and disrupt our internal systems and affect our bodily function.
Types of cancer
There are many types of cancers but based on statistics by World Health Organisation (WHO), the more common ones include; lung cancer (2.09 million cases), breast cancer (2.09 million cases), colorectal cancer (1.80 million cases) and prostate cancer (1.28 million cases).
In Malaysia, breast cancer remains as the no 1 cancer found among Malaysians throughout 2012-2016 followed by colorectal cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma, nasopharyngeal cancer, leukaemia, prostate cancer, liver cancer, cervical cancer and ovarian cancer.
What causes cancer?
There is no one true cause for cancer as it affects everyone but according to WHO, around one-third of deaths from cancer are due to the five leading behavioural and dietary risks which include high body mass index, low fruit and vegetable intake, lack of physical activity, tobacco use, and alcohol use.
The use of tobacco increases the risk factor for cancer patients and is responsible for approximately 22% of cancer deaths
Preventing cancer
In Malaysia, a considerable number of cancer cases in Malaysia is detected at the later stage. The Malaysia National Cancer Registry reports that the number of cancer cases detected at stage three and four has risen from 58.7% (2007-2011) to 63.7% (2012–2016). This is worrying as when it comes to cancer, prevention is literally better than cure. According to WHO, around 30-50% of cancers can be prevented by avoiding risk factors and implementing prevention strategies.
Modifying your lifestyle to avoid risk factors may include living a more healthy and active lifestyle that centres around lowering the intake of alcohol and eliminating the use of tobacco. As for prevention strategies, getting the necessary vaccinations to fight against viruses such as HPV and hepatitis B virus and also getting yourself through available cancer screening programmes offers by government and private hospitals are pertinent in reducing the risk of having cancer.
It is important for everyone to be aware of this deadly disease, so share what you’ve learned about cancer today, on World Cancer Day, and together we can help build a world free of cancer.
By: Siti Farhana Sheikh Yahya
