LETTERS: Cancer is the leading cause of death worldwide. In 2020, it was responsible for 10 million deaths, or about one in six deaths.
In the same year, there were 29,530 cancer deaths, which contributed to 15.4 per cent of medically certified deaths in Malaysia.
If all deaths had been medically confirmed, the proportion of cancer-related mortality would be higher.
By 2040, the number of cancer cases in Malaysia is expected to double. The growing number of cancer cases will become a major health problem as it has a significant impact on the community and healthcare system.
Given the disease burden of cancer, World Cancer Day was created to raise public awareness of the disease and to increase efforts to improve access to quality care, screening, early detection, treatment and palliative care.
The theme for 2023 is "Closing the Care Gap", which is about identifying disparities in cancer care and taking action to make the required effort to overcome them. Urgent action is needed to increase cancer screening, detection and diagnosis in the early stages to improve cancer patients chances of survival.
Certain cancer treatments (such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery) or cancer itself can suppress or weaken the immune system.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, cancer patients were at higher risk for Covid-19 infection with severe symptoms.
The pandemic also reduced screening rates due to disrupted screening services, which caused patients to present themselves late for treatment.
A delayed diagnosis is associated with a poor prognosis.
The five-year survival rate for cancer in Malaysia is 65 per cent compared with 90.2 per cent in the United States and 81 per cent in Singapore.
Even though Malaysia is an upper-middle-income country with a good healthcare system, the cancer survival rates are still below the average of developed nations.
This may be due to challenges such as poor cancer awareness and low screening rates, delays in cancer detection and diagnosis, and delays in obtaining medical care.
Breast cancer and cervical cancer are two of the main causes of death for cancer patients in Malaysia.
However, the number of individuals who receive screenings falls far short of expectations.
Breast cancer screening rates ranged between 3.6 and 30.9 per cent in the general population, and 80.3 per cent in medical personnel.
A lack of understanding of the importance of regular cancer screening and a lack of support from family members are among the causes of the low response to cancer screening.
In line with the theme of World Cancer Day, which was observed last Saturday, let's unite to close the gap in cancer care through regular cancer screening.
DR SOH YIH HARNG and PROFESSOR DR MOY FOONG MING
Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the New Straits Times