· 250,000 new cancer patients increasing annually
· Lung cancer in men & breast cancer in women are most common
· Avg cost of cancer treatment is around 7 lakh taka
· The disease is not under control, cancer registries are population-based
· Govt institutions have capacity to treat 20% patients
· Lakhs of people dying of cancer every year
Abu Alem is a sixty-five-year-old resident of Shariatpur. Farmer by profession. His middle-class family consists of two sons, a daughter and a wife. For several months, he had a sudden illness. None of the drugs were working. In July last year, he became a doctor at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU). After various tests there, the doctor told his family that Abu Alem was diagnosed with lung cancer. The disease is now in the third stage. Chemo and radio therapy are the only hope at this point. Treatment should be started immediately. But long serials have to wait for chemo and radio therapy at BSMMU. The poor family was forced to start treatment at a private cancer hospital in the capital. After chemo and radio therapy, the patient`s condition is almost unchanged. Meanwhile, the farmer family is now helpless in identifying the disease, starting treatment and getting the disease treated. The family had to sell herd cows, plow land due to the expenditure of more than five and a half lakhs. Meanwhile, Pirojpur`s Krishna Rani returned home after undergoing cancer treatment in Chennai, India on January 18. Working in a private company, Krishna is a mother of three children. She was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago. After that he started treatment in a private hospital in India. The family has spent at least more than 10 lakhs in traveling to India, medical expenses and other expenses. He is now healthy after the operation. However, he regretted that it is not possible for everyone to meet the cost of cancer treatment. The government needs to invest more in this.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), there are more than 15 lakh cancer patients in the country. According to the information of Oncology Club, about two and a half million new people are diagnosed with cancer every year in Bangladesh. Almost a million patients are dying. Meanwhile, the Health Department has started three hospital cancer registries. A national cancer registry will give an idea of which type of cancer patients are coming at which stage. About 36,000 patients were diagnosed at the National Cancer Research Institute and Hospital from January 2018 to December 2020. During this period, 83 thousand 795 new patients came but 35 thousand 733 people were diagnosed. 42.6 percent cancer was detected in it. According to the report, 55 percent of the patients who come to the cancer institute are women and 45 percent are men. Lung cancer is the most detected in both men and women, with a percentage of 17.4 percent. And according to gender, male cancer patients have the highest 26.6 percent of lung cancer. And among women, 29.3 percent of patients are affected by breast cancer.
The country has 20 percent machines compared to the requirement. 10 to 15 percent of patients receive radiotherapy. Others don`t get it. According to the World Health Organization, as the number of oncologists in our country should be increased, the number of cancer treatment centers should also be increased. At least 80 centers are required at present. Where three radiotherapy machines are required, we have only 37-38. Because of this, poor people are not able to take radiotherapy treatment. Recently, cancer experts in India say that many of the cancer patients who go to them from Bangladesh for treatment are third or fourth stage patients. So if it can be detected in the country at the beginning then the patients will benefit. Early detection of the disease can reduce the financial loss and death rate of cancer patients.
According to public health experts, the 4 important components of cancer control are primary prevention, early detection of cancer, treatment and palliative care or palliative care. But the bulk of the allocation for cancer in the country is on infrastructure and advanced medical equipment. Allocation to cancer diagnosis and screening sector is very inadequate compared to the requirement.
Professor of Health Economics Institute of Dhaka University. Syed Abdul Hamid said, a study showed that about 17 percent of the families in which cancer patients were diagnosed were below the poverty line. In a study conducted on those who have undergone cancer treatment, I have seen that it costs between 6 and a half to 10 lakh taka per patient. And this cost mainly depends on the type of cancer.
Director of Health Department (Administration) Professor Dr. Md. Shamiul Islam said, environment and diet is also a major cause of cancer. We should think whether we are causing cancer due to various habits including smoking. Institutes with state-of-the-art facilities are needed. Besides, the capacity to control it should be increased.
He said, cancer is one of the major reasons for high medical expenses in the country. The state should give the most importance to this place. Where technology has advanced the most in the medical sciences, we still lag behind. Can`t diagnose. Why would this be?
JH
