Vietnam has more than 116,000 new cancer cases and 82,000 people die of the disease every year, while the cost of cancer treatment increases year after year, a health official has said.

Dr. Pham Xuan Dung, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, provided the figures at a seminar on cancer held by the HCMC Department of Health on Thursday with the theme of “Cancer insurance in Vietnam – Narrowing the gap between initiatives and access to treatment.”

Of the 116,000 new patients, 5,000-5,500 are in HCMC, Dr. Dung said, adding that the number of cancer patients at his hospital increases by ten percent per year.

Every year the hospital gives treatment to 13,000 new cancer cases, including those transferred from other localities, Dung said.

The infirmary has 700 beds but the number of in-patients is about 1,500 per day on average, the doctor added.

Dr. Dung also reported that in the world, there are 12.7 million new cancer cases every year and about 7.6 million people yearly die of the illness.

The most common cancers in men are lung, rectum, stomach, prostate, and liver while breast, lung, stomach, and cervical cancers are commonly found in women. 

Treatment cost increases

The cost of cancer treatment has also risen over time, and it is now double that of 10 years ago, Dr. Dung said.

Nowadays, doctors examine, test and treat cancer patients using many advanced methods and technologies, which leads to higher costs of treatment, he explained.

Vu Xuan Bang, deputy head of the Health Insurance Policy Implementation Board under the Vietnam Social Insurance Agency, also said the number of cancer patients at many other hospitals has also gone up in recent years.

Last year the amount the agency paid for the cost of treatment of insured cancer patients amounted to VND3,374 billion (US$159.8 million), much higher than VND2,767 billion ($131 million) paid in 2012, Bang said.

In general, medicine accounts for 80 percent of the total cost of cancer treatment, Bang added.

With the cost of cancer treatment increasingly growing, the heal insurance may no longer afford it in the future, Dr. Dung said.

Precaution

After cardiovascular diseases, cancer is the number 2 cause of death throughout the world, said Dr. Dang Huy Quoc Thinh, deputy director of the HCMC Oncology Hospital.

Cancer is a complex group of diseases with many possible causes, one of which is environmental pollution, Dr. Thinh said.

Another cause is that food is processed with harmful chemicals that trigger cancer.

Improper diet is also a cause, as many people eat more meat and fat but take in fewer vegetables.

In addition, lifestyle is also a factor. In the busy life of modern societies, people tend to sit more and walk less. They also do less physical exercise while often using cars and motorbikes to travel.

Smoking is also one important factor that causes cancer. Vietnam is now one of the 15 countries leading the world in smoking.

What’s more, abusing liquors or beers are also contributing to causing cancer. Dr. Thinh said.

In order to avoid getting the disease, everyone should follow proper diets, eat less fat and more green vegetables, engaged more often in physical activities, and take exercise every day.

People should also do medical check-ups regularly to be screened for cancer. If early detected, cancer can be treated timely and effectively, he added.

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