As many as 500,000 people with health insurance aged 40 and above in Hanoi have received free screenings for bowel and gastrointestinal cancer since March 2017, according to the municipal Health Department. The department held the screening program in 28 districts and 300 communes and wards in the city. As many as 21,800 people were diagnosed with cancer after testing. Medical experts said that the city needs to step up public awareness about cancer screening as local people are not fully aware of its importance. The municipal health department is also looking for sponsors for the screening of breast cancer and other diseases. Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed that the number of new cancer patients in Vietnam increased to 126,307 in 2010 from 68,810 in 2000. The figure is expected to hit 190,000 in 2020. A study by an international organization on cancer treatment cost in Southeast Asian countries revealed that 55% of cancer patients in Vietnam died 12 months after diagnosis. Most of the Vietnamese cancer patients are diagnosed in the late stage of the disease, with only 5% being diagnosed in the first stage and 19% in the second stage. Around 70,000 Vietnamese cancer people have died of the disease annually. (VietnamNews)
