Synergy Fight Cancer

Cancer is still a most frightening specter for the world, not least the people in Southeast Asia.

The number of sufferers also tend to increase every year. Known, there are more than 700,000 new cases and 500,000 deaths from cancer in 2008. Cancer burden in Southeast Asia continues to grow, mainly due to the aging process and population growth, along with increased cancer-causing effect of unhealthy behaviors, especially smoking.

ACTION study reports (ASEAN Cost in Oncology) conducted by the George Institute said the loss due to cancer reached 7.5 million DALYs (disability adjusted life years). DALYs is a measure of years of life lost due to inability to move up to an early death because of illness. The types of cancers vary widely from country to country. The highest cancer burden to the size of DALYs losses suffered by Laos, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

While the lowest number is in Brunei, Singapore and the Philippines. Countries with higher incomes such as Singapore and Brunei in general showed the incidence of breast, lung, and colorectal cancers, whereas liver cancer rates are lower. In low-income countries, such as Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, the higher rate of cervical cancer, as well as stomach cancer.

Survival rates are lower than in developed countries due to late diagnosis and limited access to appropriate management standards and on time.

Health Minister (Menkes) Nafsiah Mboi said, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2010, approximately 7.8 million people worldwide died from cancer. While in Indonesia, causing 12.9% of cancer deaths compared to other diseases. In 2011, cancer is responsible for 21% of deaths from non-communicable diseases (PTM).

"In 2015 it is estimated there are approximately one million new cancer cases per year in the countries of Southeast Asia. In fact, health care facilities that are available have not been able to serve all of them, except for Singapore, "he said when opening the meeting" Policy Roundtable on Future Access to Cancer Care in ASEAN "was initiated by the ASEAN Foundation at JW Marriot Hotel, Kuningan, Jakarta.

According to him, the treatment of cancer causing substantial discrepancy was found between developed and developing countries in cancer survival rates. Therefore, specific strategies are needed to close the gap and improve prevention and treatment in Southeast Asian countries in order to reduce the effect of the disease on human suffering, particularly economic problems.

"If you have cancer, people who are not poor will become poorer," said Nafsiah.

In fact, continued Nafsiah, the cause of cancer is generally the things that could have been prevented, that unhealthy lifestyles, such as prevention merokok.Upaya certainly easier and less costly in the fight against cancer.

The government, he said, is committed to launch cancer prevention strategies, especially in terms of improving education, promotion, and prevention of cancer than treatment. However, if these efforts do not follow the public consciousness, then that would be futile.
(Tty)