KUALA LUMPUR: Health Ministry statistics have shown that about 19,000 out of 100,000 Malaysians are suffering from cancer.
Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya said women are among those most at risk of cancer, with a ratio of male to female of 1:1.2, comprising 10,240 out of the 100,000.
“Of the 100,000 people, 4,058 are Malay men and 4,753 Malay women diagnosed with cancer, while 4,078 Chinese men and 4,422 Chinese women are diagnosed with the disease.
"This is followed by 629 Indian men and 1,065 Indian women.”
He said the top five types of cancer affecting both men and women in Malaysia are breast cancer (14.5 per cent); colorectal cancer (12.1 per cent); lung cancer (11.8 per cent); cervical cancer (5.7 per cent); and throat cancer (5.4 per cent).
"As such, we advise members of the public to conduct early and regular checkups to detect the disease for more effective treatment.
"The Health Ministry’s statistics (of year 2014) have also shown that cancer is the fourth highest cause of death in government hospitals (13.02 per cent)," he said after launching the Colorectal Cancer Awareness Project 2016, here today.
Dr Hilmi also said it is estimated that one in four Malaysians (1:4) will develop cancer by 75 years old.