Official: Low awareness causing late discovery of most cancer cases in Sabah
KOTA KINABALU, Oct 6 — Cancer awareness in Sabah remains low as most patients in the state are only diagnosed in the late stages, says Health Ministry oncologist Dr Ros Suzanna Ahmad Bustamam.
The national head of radiotherapy and oncology services said up to 66.6 per cent of patients in Sabah are only diagnosed at stages three (spreading) and four (metastatic).
“In the Sabah Cancer Registry 2012 to 2016, a total of 8,818 new cancer cases were reported in the State over this period of time,” she said during the opening of the 34th Annual Scientific Congress of the Malaysian Oncological Society (Ascomos) 2023 here today.
The figures have not been updated since then, although it is learnt that there are about 1,444 cancer patients being treated per year.
This is from an estimated population of 3.5 million.
The five most common cancers reported were breast, colorectal, lung, lymphoma, and cervix.
For males, the most common cancer reported was colorectal cancer, followed by lung and prostate cancer, while in females, breast, cervical and colorectal cancers were most reported.
The age-standardised incidence rates per 100, 000 population were 94.8 for males, and 111.1 for females.
The Likas women and children’s hospital director Dr Marcus Netto said the main challenges in cancer treatment include insufficient manpower and aging equipment.
He said that while the hospital managed to work with aging equipment, the challenge becomes greater with patients who come in during the advanced stages, so many are referred to palliative care instead.
The state has long struggled with cancer awareness especially in rural areas where only a few hospitals are equipped with oncology facilities.
Dr Ros said that there were currently 24 public hospitals and eight private hospitals providing healthcare services to the population spread out over 73,000 square kilometres of Sabah. Out of these only, three are properly equipped to treat cancer patients although some do provide radiotherapy.
“In the public sector, the regional cancer centre providing oncology services for Sabah is located at Pusat Perubatan Nuklear dan Radioterapi, Hospital Wanita dan Kanak-Kanak Sabah, or HWKKS.
“KPJ Sabah Specialist Hospital and Gleneagles Hospital Kota Kinabalu are the two private centres in Sabah providing oncology services. HWKKS and KPJ Sabah provide radiotherapy services.
“In addition to that, a number of government hospitals outside Kota Kinabalu, namely Hospital Tawau, Hospital Duchess of Kent in Sandakan, Hospital Lahad Datu, Hospital Labuan and Hospital Keningau also provide some oncology services,” she said.
She said that the Health Ministry was committed to providing high quality cancer care in Sabah and this includes adequate infrastructure and equipment, financial and human resources, as well as opportunities for research and training for doctors.
“Efforts have also been made to decentralise oncology services to the said hospitals outside Kota Kinabalu, to enable patients to have access to cancer care and treatment. Our public health department also plays an important role in prevention and early detection of cancer,” she said.
