Cancer patients rising in Sri Lanka

Ridma DISSANAYAKE

Over 20,000 new cancer patients were diagnosed in Sri Lanka last year, a Health Ministry spokesman said. He said most patients did not seek treatment as they were not aware that they had cancer and sought treatment late. The spokesman said around 15,000 cancer patients were diagnosed in 2011. “This shows that cancer patients are increasing in the island,” he said.

Meanwhile, World Cancer Day will be observed today. World Cancer Day-2013 will be observed in Sri Lanka under the theme ‘Let’s abandon the myths and wrong ideas about cancer’ under the direction of the Health Ministry National Cancer Mitigation Unit.

The Health Ministry spent around Rs 1,500 million last year to provide medicine for cancer patients.