24
The heAlTh | April, 2020
| Issue |
CANCER is the second leading
cause of death globally,
and was responsible for an
estimated 9.6 million deaths in
2018.
About one in six deaths is due
to cancer, and approximately 70
per cent of deaths from cancer
occur in low and middle-income
countries. One in five men and
one in six women worldwide
develop cancer during their
lifetime. On the other hand,
one in eight men and one in 11
women die from the disease.
Globally, the total number of
people who are alive within five
years of a cancer diagnosis,
known as the 5-year prevalence,
is estimated to be 43.8 million.
Malaysia, like most developed
and advanced developing
countries, is approaching an
epidemiologic transition where
diseases related to lifestyle,
particularly cancers, have
progressively become more
prevalent. Over the last decades,
cancer is one of the five major
causes of death in Malaysia.
Based on the Ministry of Health
Fact 2019, cancer contributed
to 11.82 per cent of all deaths in
government hospitals compared
to 9.08 per cent in 1999.
Based on the cancer statistics
in Malaysia, regardless of
gender and ethnicity, there are
10 most common cancers for
the period of 2012 to 2016. The
most recognised cancers are
breast (19.0 per cent), followed
by colorectal (13.5 per cent) and
lung (9.8 per cent).
More than one-third of
cancer cases are preventable,
and another third are curable
if detected early and treated
adequately. Therefore,
implementing resource-
appropriate strategies on
prevention, early detection and
treatment, can save up to 3.7
million lives every year.
Addressing
the shortage
of oncologists
in the country
The Malaysian Oncological Society
suggests more training programmes
to increase the number of oncologists
M
ALAYSIA should have more
Masters programmes and
more places to conduct
training in clinical oncology
to address the shortage of
oncologists.
Malaysian Oncological
Society's (MOS) Treasurer,
This may not
only help to
address the lack
of oncologists
but also the
distribution of
oncologists in
every state."
— Dr Matin
Early cancer
detection can
spare your life
FORMER Minister of Health Datuk
Seri Dzulkifly Ahmad spoke on the
importance of going through early
cancer screening at The World
Cancer Day 2020 held in Kuala
Lumpur recently.
Cancer is one of the five major
causes of death in Malaysia. The
Malaysian National Cancer Registry
Report (2012-2016) estimates lifetime
risk in developing cancer for Malaysian
males are one in 10 (1/10) and a one in
nine (1/9) for Malaysian females.
FACT
Malaysia needs over
300 oncologists
Dr Matin Mellor
Abdullah said, “At the
moment, the current
ratio to the number of
oncologists in Malaysia is
one oncologist to per thousand population.
With 30 million population of Malaysia, we
need over 300 oncologists.”
The main problem of the gap the
number of oncologists today is because
Universiti Malaysia (UM) is the only
university that is off ering Masters in
Clinical Oncology.
Traditionally, the United Kingdom was
where Malaysians sought professional
training in clinical oncology. But when
Britain joined the European Union (EU),
there was a limit on the number trainees
from Commonwealth countries and
that led to less professionally-trained
oncologists.
"However, there are plans to increase
the number of oncologists," said Dr Matin.
According to him, the Ministry of
Health is working on a dual-training
programme. The plan involves
collaboration with the College of Radiology
of United Kingdom, where students are
allowed to sit for exams and training for
career progression. Besides that, Universiti
Sains Malaysia (USM) has also made
agreements with The Christie School of
Oncology in United Kingdom to allocate
four-year training programmes for
Malaysian students.
"This may not only help to address
the lack of oncologists but also the
distribution of oncologists in every
state," he said, adding that there was a
real need in the number of doctors who
want to become oncologists.
When asked why clinical oncology
was not a preferred specialisation for
doctors, Dr Matin said it all had to do with
perception.
“Well, it is considered morbid. Cancer is
always related with death and that keeps
the doctors away from this fi eld,” replied
Dr Matin. — The Health
He said that early detection and
prompt treatment may help to improve
the chances of cure in Malaysia. The
issue in Malaysia is that 60 per cent of
cancer cases in Malaysia are detected
late when cancer has already landed on
stage three or four. Delayed screening
only leads to higher cost of treatment
and also scaling down the possibility of
a cure.
“A targeted screening programme
by identifying high-risk individuals is
still the preferred strategy. Screening
of asymptomatic individuals and
recognising the early sign and
symptoms of cancer are indeed vital
to detecting cancer early," said Dr
Dzulkifly.
The Ministry Of Health provides
free cervical cancer screening, breast
cancer screening, colorectal cancer
screening, and also oral cancer
screening. Screenings for high-risk
cancer groups such as liver and
prostate are available in hospitals,
whereas lung cancer screening is