World Cancer Day: The Fight Against The Number Two Deadly Disease In The World

Illustration (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Today, February 4, the world commemorates World Cancer Day. This alert was initiated by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). The goal is to increase awareness and understanding in overcoming cancer both individually and collectively through the government. The UICC is committed to rebuilding the world as millions of people die from cancer, which could still be prevented with access to proper care.

Launching the official World Cancer Day campaign website worldcancerday.org, hundreds of campaign days are being held around the world. They raise support from communities, organizations and individuals in schools, workplaces, hospitals, markets, parks, places of worship, on the streets to online activation. This movement that has existed since 2000 has its own role in reducing the impact of cancer globally.

For this year, UICC carries the theme 'I Am and I Will'. This campaign is more about people's commitment to action against cancer. Through this campaign, initiators hope to achieve the target of reducing the number of premature cancer deaths by one third by 2030.

Still cause for concern

According to data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in 2018, nearly 10 million people (9.6 million) died from cancer. This makes cancer the second deadliest disease after cardiovascular disease.

According to Max Roser and Hannah Ritchie in Cancer (2020), this disease is the most common cause of death in rich countries. Meanwhile, when it is peeled from the nearly 10 million people who have cancer, 57.3 percent are in Asia. This is natural because when compared to other continents, Asia hosts nearly 60 percent of the world's population.

Meanwhile, in second place, the region with the most cancer population is Europe, with 23.4 percent. Whereas in Europe the population is only 9 percent of the total world population. Then America recorded as much as 21 percent of cancer patients, and Africa 7.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the most common types of cancer are lung, female breast, and colorectum cancer. These three types of cancer are responsible for one third of cancer incidents worldwide.

From year to year, the number of cancer sufferers continues to increase. Summary of Global Burden of Disease data from 1990 to 2017, the number of people who died from cancer increased by 66 percent.

How about in Indonesia?

In Indonesia, data from the Ministry of Health (Kemenkes) 2019, the incidence of cancer is in the 8th position in Southeast Asia and 23rd in Asia as much as 136.2 per 100,000 population.

The highest incidence rate in Indonesia for men is lung cancer, which is 19.4 per 100,000 population with an average death rate of 10.9 per 100,000 population, followed by liver cancer at 12.4 per 100,000 population with an average death rate of 7, 6 per 100,000 population.

While the highest incidence rate for women is breast cancer, which is 42.1 per 100,000 population with an average death rate of 17 per 100,000 population followed by cervical cancer at 23.4 per 100,000 population with an average death rate of 13.9 per 100,000 population. .

Prevention

According to the Ministry of Health, massive efforts are needed to prevent and control cancer in Indonesia. All parties, both government and society, in cancer prevention and control.

The government itself has made various efforts to reduce the number of cancer patients in Indonesia, including early detection of breast cancer and cervical cancer in women aged 30-50 years using the Clinical Breast Examination (SADANIS) method for breasts and Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (IVA). for the cervix.

Meanwhile, personal efforts that can be made to prevent the types of cancer that are most common in Indonesia (lung cancer and breast cancer) are as follows:

1. First is lung cancer, how to prevent this disease as reported by Alodokter are as follows:

Don't smoke, stop smoking, and avoid secondhand smoke. This is the main way to prevent lung cancer. Use personal protective equipment in workplaces where there is a lot of exposure to hazardous chemicals. Get checked regularly, especially if you have a history of smoking or work in an environment with high exposure to chemicals. Increase consumption of fruits and vegetables, and avoid taking large doses of vitamin supplements. Do exercise regularly for 30 minutes every day.

2. Then to prevent breast cancer in women, the methods suggested by hellosehat.com can be done as follows:

Eat lots of vegetables, fruit and whole grains Avoid drinking alcohol Regular exercise Breastfeeding (for women who have just given birth) Quit smoking Reduce sugar, red meat and trans fats And finally do early detection