Cancer treatment woefully inadequate

As there is no definitive data available nationally, a 2012 report by World Health Organisation (WHO) serves as the benchmark when it comes to computing new cancer patients in the country. Apparently, there are some 122,000 new patients contracting cancer every year and more than 90,000 die. It is pathetic to think that in Bangladesh, we have only 16 dedicated institutes for the treatment of cancer, whereas WHO estimates that for a population our size, we need around 160. The government has only one specialised institute catering to cancer patients, the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH), which can only cater to 50 percent of the patients seeking medical help.

Now why is that? Why are we so insensitive to the needs of such a large population of patients who, due to lack of treatment, are going through excruciating suffering and dying every year? It is not only a lack of sufficient equipment, but also a lack of requisite trained manpower and funding that holds back the development of this branch of medical care in the country.

As we urbanise rapidly and our lifestyles change for the worse due to fast food intake, air pollution tobacco abuse, food contamination and lethargy resulting in obesity, it is natural that all these conditions are contributing to a rise in cancer numbers. It is time to take cognizance of the fact that cancer is here to stay and national health policy must place greater emphasis on detection and treatment of this disease. A failure to do so will only contribute to greater fatalities with each passing year.