More than 14,000 Sri Lankans died of oral, esophagus, stomach, cervical and breast cancers in 2013. Major hospitals, besides the Maharagama Cancer Institute, treated 25,842 cancer patients in 2013, according to Health Ministry media spokesman W. M. D. Wanninayaka.

He said Maharagama alone had recorded about 5,000 deaths due to cancer last year. There had been a dramatic rise in the number of cancer patients in recent times, he added.Oral, lung, esophageal and breast cancers were common in Sri Lanka and about 70 per cent of the patients had developed oral cancers, Wanninayake said.

Consultant Oncological Surgeon Dr. Anuruddha Thewarupperum, contacted for comment, said that the incidence of oral cancers was the highest in the country. He attributed it to the fact that in rural areas, especially in the estate sector, people started chewing betel at a tender age.

Dr. Thewarapperuma pointed out that some cancers could be cured if detected early. The cervical cancer was prevalent among young married woman, especially in the estate sector. Caused by a virus present in the vagina it was sexually transmitted, he said.

Dr. Thewarapperuma said the reason for the alarming increase in the number of cancer patients was lack of public awareness. However, all major hospitals in the country had consultant cancer specialists and consultant oncological surgeons, he said. The government had spent billions of rupees to set up special cancer clinics and he would advise any person to seek treatment if he or she has had a wound in the mouth for more than two weeks, he said.

By Don Asoka Wijewardena
Source: Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)