Cancer prevalence on an increase
Research also shows that eating five portions of fruits and vegetables reduces the risks of getting cancer.
MBOMBELA- Did you know? February 4 is World Cancer Day, which is aimed to raising awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection and treatment.
The World Cancer Day was founded by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to support the goals of the World Cancer Declaration, written in 2008. The primary goal of the World Cancer Day is to significantly reduce illness and death caused by cancer by 2020.
A recent study published by medical journal Lancet predicts that South Africa could see an increase of 78% in the number of cancer cases by 2030. From a global perspective, a 75% increase is expected, increasing the total incidence of all new cancer-cases from 12,7 million in 2008 to 22,2 million by 2030.
The study says South Africa is ranked 50th on the World Cancer Research Fund’s list of countries with the highest cancer prevalence rates; with Prostate Cancer being the number one cancer diagnosed amongst South African men followed by lung, oesophagus, colon/rectum and bladder cancer. Amongst women, the most prevalent is breast cancer followed by cervical, uterus, colorectal and oesophageal cancer.
Facts
Cancer is a life threating disease that affects everyone, worldwide cancer kills more people that AIDS, malaria, TB combined and the death toll is set to increase in the coming decades. Lung cancer remains a growing health problem in both sexes. Skin cancer is also common in country.
However many cancers can be cured if detection early and treated appropriately.
Other prevention methods includes quitting smoking, eating whole grains and low fat foods, drinking lots of safe clean water, getting plenty of exercise and watching one’s weight. Research also shows that eating five portions of fruits and vegetables reduces the risks of getting cancer.
