Let's Fight Cancer Together

By B.DULGUUN

Just a week ago, Mongolia observed World Cancer Day for the ninth year, to join the rest of the world in the fight against cancer.

Cancer is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Currently, 8.2 million people die from cancer every year, and more than half of them die between the ages of 30 and 60, according to the Cancer Research UK statistics. Reportedly, approximately 5,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed annually in Mongolia, and 3,000 of these cases result in death.

This is a shockingly high number considering Mongolia's small population. Our three million people could become extinct within a century or two if the fast-spreading cancer epidemic doesn't slow down. It's essential to raise awareness of cancer, provide effective education about its causesat an early age, and urge the government and health organizations to take appropriate measures for cancer response and public education. Politicians often say that they are taking effective steps all the time. Yet, statistics show that their work is still not good enough.

Doctors say that the cancer mortality rate is high because most people with cancer, about 70 percent of them, are diagnosed in the late stages of cancer. As most people know, it's almost impossible to treat cancer in its late stages. It needs to be detected early, so that doctors can take action earlier and lower a patient's chance of dying from the cancer, but current preventive measures in Mongolia are insufficient for saving lives.

On February 4, World Cancer Day, the Ministry of Health and Sports, the National Cancer Center (NCC), and Public Health Institute organized a cancer workshop, offered free public cancer screening tests, and reported on the current situation of cancer in Mongolia and cancer projects under way. Around 30 local journalists received free health examinations and screenings on World Cancer Day, but the screenings ended after that. It's good to do things step by step. However, the scale of national action being taken to fight cancer seems a bit too small considering that this was the ninth year of Mongolia's participation in the international initiative. Most people found out about the event after it was reported by the...