Cancer generally affects the aging and is sporadic

Around 150,000 Pakistanis are diagnosed yearly with cancer, said Dr Muhammad Farrukh, consultant oncologist at the Shifa International Hospital in Islamabad on Saturday.

Around 101,113 cancer related deaths and a prevalence of 350,000 living cancer patients were reported in the past five years in Pakistan.

Dr Farrukh said that cancer was the 2nd commonest cause of human deaths (12.6%) after cardiovascular diseases (15.1%) followed by road traffic accidents (9.7%), respiratory ailments (7.1%), and peri-natal conditions (5.4%).

Causes

He said that cancer generally affects the aging and termed sporadic (the more you age, the more chance of acquiring the ailment), but has no restrictions for race, nationality, gender, colour and may also affect the young.

He informed the audience that smoking tobacco and hookah is well0known for causing cancers of lungs, oral cavity and other organs.

Symptoms

Dr Ayaz Mir, consultant oncologist at the hospital, said there were more than 100 types of blood cancer. Three major categories are leukemia (involves Blood), lymphoma (involves lymph nodes or glands) and myeloma (involves bones). 

Fatigue, 
weight loss, 
night sweats, 
loss of appetite, 
bleeding, 
bone pains, 
enlarged glands and 
recurrent infections 
are main signs and symptoms of blood cancer, he said.

Treatment

He said that in US many blood cancers are now treatable with pills instead of chemotherapy. 

Other major advance is drugs that stimulate immune system of body to fight cancer (Immune Check Point Inhibitors). “Many new drugs are being manufactured in neighboring countries such as India but not in Pakistan and their import is prohibited. 

Many blood cancers can be cured by bone marrow or stem Cell transplantation from patients own or a donor’s stem cells. Transplant is expensive (Rs1.5 to Rs2.5 million) and many patients cannot be cured due to affordability issues,” he underlined.

Blood Cancer does not mean a death sentence. Many types have a high (70-80%) cure rate. Early detection is easy and expert consultation is essential,” Dr Ayaz remarked.

Consultant medical oncologist and breast cancer expert Dr Uzma Qasim said breast cancer was diagnosed in more than one million women worldwide every year. “Pakistan has the highest incidence of breast cancer in entire Asia.”

https://dailytimes.com.pk/195193/nearly-150000-pakistanis-diagnosed-yearly-cancer/