Mouth cancer tops cancer deaths for PNG men: Doc

By LULU MARK
MOUTH cancer tops the list of the 10 cancers that cause death in Papua New Guinean men, a doctor says.
United Nations in-country physician Dr Mathias Sapuri said it was estimated that there were 3,500 new mouth cancer cases (including both male and female) every year in PNG.
Dr Sapuri said following mouth cancer was lung cancer, liver, prostrate, colorectal, esophageal, leukaemia, bladder, pancreatic and testicular cancers.
The risk factors for mouth cancer include chewing of betel nuts, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, human papilloma virus (HPV), family history of the cancer and excessive exposure to sunlight.
Dr Sapuri said smoking tobacco was one of the risk factors that was common right through most of the cancers on the list.
He said smoking not only contributed to causing cancers but other lifestyle diseases such as coronary heart disease. Therefore, he said that if you could stop smoking, do it, as it would reduce your risk of developing cancers.
Dr Sapuri added it was better not to start smoking because the nicotine contained in cigarettes was addictive.
“In the world, around 9.6 million people die from cancer annually,” he said.
“Of this, 4.3 million are male.
“In PNG, around 1,200 men die from cancer annually.”
Dr Sapuri said there was insufficient awareness about cancer in PNG communities.
Dr Sapuri said the absence of radiotherapy and palliative treatments coupled with poor prevention strategies; weak health screening modalities; weak health interventions, surgery and chemotherapy meant there was more to be done.
“World cancer care progressed and we are stuck in the 1980s.”
He said the best cure for cancer right now in the country was prevention.