The Nassau Guardian
Rising cancer rates trigger concerns
A day after the World Health Organization (WHO) said global cancer rates are growing at an alarming rate, local oncologist Dr. Theodore Turnquest said doctors in the country have noticed increases in certain cancers in the last five years.
“What we are seeing an increase in is the amount of colon cancers that we are [treating],” Turnquest said yesterday.
“We used to do about 30. Now we’re up to about 45 to 50 a year.”
He said cases of stomach cancers, which were uncommon, are now around 10 to 15 per year.
“We’re seeing an increase in the types of cancers that are associated with a sedentary lifestyle,” he said.
“We are also seeing an increase in rates of smoking-related cancers as well. So we’ve seen an uptick in lung cancer and bladder tumors.”
As for breast cancer, Turnquest said there has been an average of 80 to 100 new breast cancer cases treated in the public health system each year.
He said prostate cancer continues to be the most common cancer in men with 60 to 70 new cases a year.
Turnquest, chief of the Department of Medicine at Princess Margaret Hospital, said there needs to be more resources dedicated to cancer care.
He said more oncologists are also needed.
The WHO has warned that developing countries will shoulder the burden of increased cancer rates.
The World Cancer Report 2014 said global incidents of cancer are growing at an alarming rate and noted that urgent emphasis needs to be placed on “implementing efficient prevention strategies to curb the disease”.
“In 2012, the worldwide burden of cancer rose to an estimated 14 million new cases per year, a figure expected to rise to 22 million annually within the next two decades,” the WHO said.
“Over the same period, cancer deaths are predicted to rise from an estimated 8.2 million annually to 13 million per year.”
The report noted that globally, in 2012 “the most common cancers diagnosed were those of the lung (1.8 million cases, 13 percent of the total), breast (1.7 million, 11.9 percent), and large bowel (1.4 million, 9.7 percent).
The most common causes of cancer deaths were cancers of the lung (1.6 million, 19.4 percent of the total), liver (0.8 million, 9.1 percent), and stomach (0.7 million, 8.8 percent).
Dr. Christopher Wild, director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and co-editor of the WHO’s report, warned that “we cannot treat our way out of the cancer problem”.
“More commitment to prevention and early detection is desperately needed in order to complement improved treatments and address the alarming rise in cancer burden globally,” he said.
Avoidable
“Access to effective and affordable cancer treatments in developing countries, including for childhood cancers, would significantly reduce mortality, even in settings where healthcare services are less well developed,” the WHO said.
It noted that “the spiralling costs of the cancer burden are damaging the economies of even the richest countries and are way beyond the reach of developing countries”.
“In 2010, the total annual economic cost of cancer was estimated to reach approximately US$1.16 trillion,” the WHO said.
“Yet about half of all cancers could be avoided if current knowledge was adequately implemented.”
Turnquest agreed, noting that education in the school system is one step to curbing increases in cancer.
“We also need to tackle our obesity problem,” he added.
“That is going to be our biggest problem. The obesity problem will result in diabetes, high blood pressure and cancers associated with it.”
The number of cases of younger people diagnosed with cancer is also on the rise, Turnquest said.
“Historically, most cancers occur in people in their sixth or seventh decade of life,” he said.
“But we are seeing more and more people show up in their late 30s, early 40s. That’s here in The Bahamas. No one is quite sure why it is happening or if this is a statistical aberration.”
No comments:
Post a Comment