Join the fight against cancer
Prevention and early detection are the mainstay to deal with cancer
Cancer kills more people than any other disease. More than 70 percent of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries like Bangladesh. Experts say that about 30 percent of cancer deaths can be prevented. Yet little attention and less efforts have been given to prevent the unnecessary deaths. As the number of deaths from cancer are on the rise, it is high time to act to revert the rising trend. Including Bangladesh, many countries have health systems that are poorly prepared to grapple with the double burden of infectious and non-communicable diseases like cancer. Currently majority of our people cannot access curative therapies due to poor economy, lack of state-of-the-art medical facilities, or expensive cancer drugs that are the mainstay of cancer care in developed nations. Therefore, scaling up prevention and early diagnosis are the most cost-effective ways of dealing with cancer. However, cancer screening for mass population for early diagnosis, cancer control and care have remained a low priority on global and local health agendas. Moreover, many people in Bangladesh still believe the misconception that cancer is a fate and nothing can be done to prevent or cure it. The level of awareness on cancer, existing free screening services, early treatment are extremely low that need to boost up with utmost importance. A significant portion of deaths from cancer could be prevented by modifying or avoiding key risk factors, according to a 2005 study by international cancer collaborators. Common risk factors include tobacco use, being overweight or obese, low fruit and vegetable intake, physical inactivity, alcohol use, sexually transmitted Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection, urban air pollution, indoor smoke from household use of solid fuels and so on. There are some strategies that can work like wonders for cancer prevention, such as increasing avoidance of the risk factors listed above, vaccinattion against HPV and hepatitis B virus, controlling occupational hazards and reducing exposure to sunlight. About one-third of the cancer burden could be decreased if cases were detected and treated early by educating people about the early signs and countrywide screening programme. However, if early neither prevention nor detection could help, there is treatment and care for you. Some of the most common cancer types, such as breast cancer, cervical cancer and colorectal cancer have high cure rates when detected early and treated according to best practice. Relief from pain and other problems can be achieved in over 90 percent of cancer patients through palliative care. So, do not lose your hope, stand up and join the fight against cancer.
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