About 257 people die of cancer every day in Vietnam and most of them were already in last stages when being diagnosed.

Cancer treatment concerns were addressed at an event to mark World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2017 on October 12.

Tran Van Thuan, director of Vietnam National Cancer Hospital, said the pain that cancer patients have to suffer is one of the hardest things to go through. In 2000, there were 60,000 cancer patients in Vietnam. 

This number increased to 126,000 in 2010 and is estimated to exceed 189,000 in 2020. About 257 people died of cancer every day.

Last year, the World Health Organisation continued ranking Vietnam among the countries with the highest rate of cancer fatalities. Vietnam was ranked at the 78th among 172 countries with a cancer death rate of 110 for every 100,000 people, along with Finland, Somalia and Turkmenistan.

According to Thuan, there were several main causes for the rising cancer rate. Firstly, better longevity means longer time being exposed to contamination and risks.

Thanks to the better health care system, people have health check-ups more regularly and more cases are being detected and recorded. 

Moreover, modern equipment has also helped to detect more cases earlier.

Finally, there are more cancer risk factors in modern time. For example, cigarettes and chemical substances that cause throat or breast cancer. 

About 35% of the patients have cancer because of unhygienic food, 80% of the patients have bad habits or diets. Unbalanced diets could also increase cancer risks.

23 million people in the world are suffering from cancer. There are 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths worldwide each year.

dtinews