Friday, March 29, 2024 | 22:24 WIB

Close the care gap for breast cancer

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Jakarta, IO – According to Ministry of Health data in 2022, the prevalence of cancer in Indonesia is 136 cases per 100,000 of the population, or 8th highest in the Southeast Asia region. The commonest form of cancer among our women is breast cancer, at 42 cases per 100,000 of the population and a death rate of 17 deaths per 100,000 of the population, followed by cervical cancer (23 incidents per 100,000 of the population, 14 deaths per 100,000 of the population). Among men, lung cancer is the most dangerous disease (19 incidents per 100,000 of the population and 11 deaths per 100,000 of the population), followed by liver cancer (12 incidents per 100,000 of the population, 8 deaths per 100,000 of the population). 

The death rate is quite high, as patients generally only come to the doctor when they’re already at an advanced stage of illness. In cancer, as in most other illnesses, the earlier the stage of the disease, the better the chance of getting cured with treatment. This is a race against time: early detection will suppress the severity level of the disease, as well as its deadliness. Furthermore, the earlier a cancer gets detected, the lower the treatment costs that a patient must spend. 

That was the summary of the “Close the Care Gap” media discussion, held by the MRCCC Siloam Semanggi Hospital to commemorate 2023 World Cancer Day on Tuesday (07/02/2023). 

“Even though cancer treatment procedures have progressed greatly around the world, many Indonesian citizens remain unable to access decent cancer services. Even worse, there is a painful lack of awareness of the need to perform routine health checks. Early detection may be performed anytime, especially for women who have at least achieved puberty and whose family has a history of cancer. Ultrasonography (USG) checks are available for younger females, while mammography should be a routine procedure among more mature women,” declared dr. Jeffry Beta Tenggara, Sp.PD-KHOM, internal disease specialist and hematologyoncology consultant. 

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