Materia Medica Malaysiana

80% cancer diagnosed at a late stage

PUTRAJAYA: Eighty per cent of cancer cases in Malaysia were diagnosed only at the advanced stage due to lack of awareness, Health Minister Datuk Dr Chua Soi Lek said.

He said the patients had sought treatment from unprofessional medical practitioners such as bomoh and sinseh (traditional Chinese medical practitioners) during the initial stages of cancer.

“Forty thousand cancer cases were reported last year, which is a serious issue, and about 80% of them were diagnosed at a late stage.

“Most of the patients also feel too embarrassed to go to the hospital and would rather seek traditional treatment,” he said.

Dr Chua said the number of cases was rising due to factors such as family history, ageing, food and polluted environment.

“Among the common cancers are breast, cervix, uterus, tongue and nasopharyngeal cancers,” he said at the Putrajaya Hospital after witnessing the handing over of a van by DRB-Hicom Bhd to Penyayang Pesakit Kanser yesterday.

DRB-Hicom donated a Mitsubishi Delica van costing RM91,000 for Penyayang to ferry patients from the Putrajaya Hospital halfway house – a place for patients and family members to stay during treatment – to the Nilai Cancer Centre.

Present were Penyayang chairman Datin Seri Endon Mahmood and DRB-Hicom group chairman Tan Sri Saleh Sulong.

Dr Chua said creating public awareness about the disease would help to prevent the increasing number of cases.

“Educating the public is an important step to help prevent late-stage diagnosis and moral support from family members and non-governmental organisations is also important for the patients.

“Studies done in the United States have shown that cancer patients who receive counselling and moral support from family members have a higher survival rate,” he said.

Under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, Dr Chua said, the ministry would place a Positron Emission Tomography Computer Tomography scanner at the Putrajaya and Penang Hospitals to emphasise hygienic treatment.

He said the scanner, which uses the latest technology in functional and anatomical study to detect cancer, would be placed at the Penang Hospital by January and at the Putrajaya Hospital by August.