About 100,000 Malaysians suffer from cancer each year

About 100,000 Malaysians suffer from cancer each year, with the most being women, said Deputy Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya.

"It is estimated that one in four Malaysians will suffer from cancer by the age of 75 years, and among the reasons is the increase in population and a longer life span.

"We expect that by 2020, there will be an increase of 15 per cent in the number of cancer cases, and this comprises senior citizens," he said after launching an awareness campaign on Colon Cancer together with the PPR community in Desa Tun Razak, Sunday.

He said that five main cancers which affected Malaysians were breast cancer (14.5 per cent), intestinal cancer (12.1 per cent), lung cancer (11.8 per cent), cervical cancer (5.7 per cent) and throat cancer (5.4 per cent).

Hilmi said 2,246 intestinal cancer cases had been reported, making it the second highest cancer disease in Malaysia.

He said in 2014, cancer was the fourth major cause of death (13.02 per cent) in government hospitals.