80% of cancer patients in Vietnam hospitalized in terminal stage

As many as 80 percent of cancer patients in Vietnam have been hospitalized in the terminal stage of the disease, which kills about 70,000 people in the country every year, a hospital director has warned.

>> Vietnam releases ‘cancer village’ list on conclusion of project’s first phase

Dr. Hoang Dinh Chan, director of Hung Viet Oncology Hospital in Hanoi, gave the warning on Wednesday, February 4 – World Cancer Day.

Dr. Chan added that Vietnam has around 200,000 new cancer cases every year.

Vietnam now has a high Internet connection rate among its population, but in general Vietnamese people have a very limited knowledge of cancer, Dr. Chan commented. 

If a cancer patient is hospitalized in the late stage of the disease, the treatment is usually not as effective, and thereby the life span of patients after the treatment is shortened, the doctor said.

The five most common types of cancer recorded in men are those in the lungs, stomach, liver, rectum and throat, he said.

Diets rich in animal fat and meat, contaminated food, smoking, abusing alcohol or beer and eating little vegetables and fruit are among the factors that cause these cancers, Dr. Chan said.   

Meanwhile, breast and cervix cancers are among the most prevalent cancers in women, he said.

In order to fight cancer effectively in Vietnam, it is necessary to disseminate knowledge on cancer prevention and treatment to the general public, encourage them to follow a healthy lifestyle, and advise them to have regular health check-ups for early cancer detection, the doctor said.

At a seminar on cancer held by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health in May 2014, Dr. Dang Huy Quoc Thinh, deputy director of the HCMC Oncology Hospital, said that cancer is the number 2 cause of death throughout the world, after cardiovascular diseases. 

This is the tenth year that the World Health Organization (WHO) has conducted World Cancer Day, which includes the participation of 500 cancer clinics around the world, Dr. Chan said.

World Cancer Day, organized by the Union for International Cancer Control, is an opportunity to highlight the wide range of actions needed to effectively prevent, treat and control the many forms of cancer, the WHO says on its website.

“The day, the theme of which in 2015 is ‘Not beyond us’, offers WHO an opportunity to demonstrate the Organization’s policies and programs for countries to reduce their cancer burden,” the WHO says.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!