Cancer Becomes Growing Threat

KOMPAS/YOLA SASTRA

Irfan (right), 4.5, who is being treated for leukemia, rides a tricycle on 30 Jan. 2020 under the watchful gaze of his mother Maimunah, 47, at a rehabilitation center run by Zakat Indonesia in Padang, West Sumatra. Irfan, whose family lives in Pulupuah district of Agam, West Sumatra, is staying at the center while he undergoes chemotherapy treatment at Dr. M. Djamil Central General Hospital in Padang.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — New cancer cases are continuing to increase across the world, including Indonesia. Although many people are aware of the dangers of cancer, it has not encouraged them to manage the disease’s risk factors and seek early diagnosis.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer deaths increased to 9.5 million in 2018 from 9.5 million in 2018. Tracheal, bronchial, and lung cancers are among the most common types of cancer. In 2018 in Southeast Asia, Indonesia was ranked first in the number of new cancer cases at 348,809, diagnosed primarily with breast, cervical, lung, liver or nasopharyngeal cancer.