It is not called the Big C for no reason. Data shows that cancer strikes one in every nine Malaysian women and every 10 men. To make matters worse, cancer is also mostly detected late in Malaysia with almost 60% of patients discovering it in stages three or four when the disease has already spread.
While the Health Ministry has been taking measures to battle the deadly disease, there is yet another huge hurdle to overcome – the lack of oncologists in the country. An oncologist is a doctor who treats cancer and provides medical care for a person diagnosed with the disease. There are only 115 oncologists in the country – just five more than the number in 2017. Of these, 42 are in government hospitals which include university hospitals, while the remaining 73 work in the private sector.
Health Ministry deputy director-general (public health) Datuk Dr Chong Chee Kheong said the ideal ratio would be eight to 10 oncologists per million people.
“If the Malaysian population is 34 million, the current ratio stands at 3.4 oncologists per one million people,” Dr Chong said in an interview ahead of World Cancer Day on Monday.
This year will mark the launch of the three-year “I Am and I Will” World Cancer Day campaign to represent the power of individual action.
He said the ministry was addressing the shortage of cancer specialists by facilitating the return of Malaysian oncologists working abroad.
“So far this year, we’ve received two applications,” he said.
He said 56 candidates were pursuing Masters in Clinical Oncology in Universiti Malaya, adding that the yearly intake would increase.
The existing National Strategic Plan for Cancer Control Programme (NSPCCP), he added, was also progressing well with improvements in screening coverage for main cancers such as colorectal cancer.
“Work is also in progress to build a cancer centre in the northern region,” he revealed.
On the late detection of cancer, he attributed this to mainly poor screening uptake and delay in recognising early signs of the disease.
“Detecting cancer at a late stage leads to higher cost of treatment and reduces the chance of a cure,” he said.
Dr Chong said 45% of cancer patients in Malaysia also faced financial problems, based on the Asean Costs in Oncology study by the George Institute for Global Health in Australia.
“This means the cost of their treatment exceeds 30% of family income after a year of being diagnosed with cancer,” he said.
He advised the people to change unhealthy habits, with the World Health Organisation estimating that between 30% and 50% of cancers could be prevented through a behavioural shift.
Smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets and alcohol intake were the risk factors for cancer, he said.
On World Cancer Day, Dr Chong said the ministry was working with the various NGOs in a campaign to create awareness and improve cancer screening rates among the people.
He said a social media campaign in line with the Union for International Cancer Control’s theme of “I Am and I Will” would also be launched. A series of events will be held throughout February and March, ending with the World Cancer Day Fun Run at the National Cancer Institute in Putrajaya on March 23.
For enquiries, call the ministry’s Cancer Unit at 03-8892 4531/4551.
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