Cancer on the rise in Sri Lanka: 17,000 new patients detected annually | Daily News

Cancer on the rise in Sri Lanka: 17,000 new patients detected annually

 

All types of cancers are on the rise in Sri Lanka with around 17,000 new cancer patients detected annually by the local health system, National Cancer Control Programme Director Consultant Community Physician Dr. Sudath Samaraweera said.

Addressing a media workshop in Colombo today Dr. Samaraweera said the most common cancer among Sri Lankans is oral cancer, while with women it is breast cancer, with around 2,500 new breast cancer patients detected annually.

Consultant Community Physician Dr. Nayana De Alwis said that daily around seven new breast cancer patients are being detected in Sri Lanka with most of them in the stages three or four, which cannot be reversed.

The doctor said that early detection was imperative to survival and requested the public to screen themselves regularly at cancer detection centers.


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