By Linette Lai, The Straits Times, 5 Feb 2014
SINGAPOREANS who turn 50 this year can get free screenings for colorectal, breast, and cervical cancer at selected polyclinics and GPs.
The year-long offer is to mark the 50th anniversary of the Singapore Cancer Society (SCS). Those who are eligible will receive a letter from the Health Promotion Board (HPB) from next month onwards. But they need to make an appointment before heading to a designated screening centre.
Around 27,000 women and 29,000 men are set to benefit.
In announcing the move, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong underlined the importance of going for regular cancer screenings. "For these cancers, there is good evidence that early detection and treatment will be able to save lives," he said at the society's anniversary celebration yesterday.
Women are advised to go for breast screening once every two years and for cervical cancer, every three years. For colorectal cancer, both men and women are encouraged to do it at least once a year.
The free screenings for 50-year-olds are a collaborative effort between SCS, HPB, SingHealth and National Healthcare Group polyclinics, and ParkwayHealth Radiology.
Depending on a person's age and other factors, such screenings usually cost up to $50 with subsidies.
The offer ends on Dec 31.
SCS chairman Choo Eng Chuan said the free screenings could extend beyond one year if there is enough funding. He added: "Our objective is to minimise the impact of cancer on society... Catch it early, and it saves costs and pain for both the patient and the family."
SCS chairman Choo Eng Chuan said the free screenings could extend beyond one year if there is enough funding. He added: "Our objective is to minimise the impact of cancer on society... Catch it early, and it saves costs and pain for both the patient and the family."
Cancer is the No.1 killer in Singapore, with one in three deaths caused by the disease. On average, at least 14 people die from cancer daily.
An exhibition on SCS' major milestones will also be held to mark its 50th anniversary.
It will be held at Lavender MRT station, as the colour lavender represents the fight against all forms of cancer.
Tidal wave of cancer set to sweep globe: Report
Most deaths in developing countries; call to tax alcohol, tobacco and sugar
The Straits Times, 5 Feb 2014
Most deaths in developing countries; call to tax alcohol, tobacco and sugar
The Straits Times, 5 Feb 2014
LONDON - A warning that the world faces a "tidal wave" of cancer has been followed by calls for restrictions or extra taxes on smoking, alcohol and sugar and greater effort to reduce obesity.
World Health Organisation (WHO) scientists predicted on Monday that the number of cancer cases globally will reach 22 million a year by 2035 but that as many as half could be prevented.
Their report, called the World Cancer Report 2014, was put together by the WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
The report said the burden of the disease falls disproportionately on developing countries. About 70 per cent of fatalities now occur in Africa, Asia and Central and South America.
There were probably 14 million new cases of cancer in 2012, the report added. The most common were lung, breast and bowel tumours, representing 13 per cent, 11.9 per cent and 9.7 per cent of cases, respectively.
Lung cancer was also the most common cause of death from any malignancy, accounting for 19.4 per cent of an estimated 8.2 million fatalities.
Cancers of the breast, colorectum and prostate were more typical of the industrialised world, the report said, while those of the liver, stomach and oesophagus were more common in low-income countries.
Almost half of the new cases diagnosed in 2012 were in Asia, most of them in China, said the report. But when it came to deaths, Asia's share jumped to more than 50 per cent and that of Africa and the Middle East to nearly 10 per cent, while the Americas' share shrank to under 16 per cent and that of Europe to 21.4 per cent.
Cases in Singapore are increasing too, especially those associated with lifestyle, including smoking and eating.
The latest available figures from two years ago show 12,123 people were diagnosed with cancer, up from 10,576 in 2008, an increase of nearly 15 per cent.
Prostate, breast and colorectal cancers are among the top three most common ones.
National Cancer Centre Singapore director Soo Khee Chee told The Straits Times that Singapore's ageing population is one reason.
"In developed countries like ours, people are living longer. Previously, people would die before they got cancer," he said.
"In developed countries like ours, people are living longer. Previously, people would die before they got cancer," he said.
One of the report's co-authors, Dr Bernard Stewart of the University of New South Wales in Australia, sees a tax on sugared drinks as one possible brake on cancers caused by obesity and lack of physical exercise, said The Guardian newspaper.
He also thinks cancers associated with alcohol are not being sufficiently recognised.
The report shows that alcohol-attributable cancers were responsible for a total of 337,400 deaths worldwide in 2010.
The majority were liver cancer, but also cancers of the mouth, oesophagus, bowel, stomach, pancreas, breast and others.
The IARC has called for screening campaigns, as well as vaccination, to help stop infection-related cancers like cervical cancer and liver tumours, alongside a push for lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking and exercising more.
BLOOMBERG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
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