Thai Nguyen Nov 6 – Cancer remains a huge challenge to Vietnam’s health sector although a national target programme on cancer prevention and control has been underway for the past few years.
The assessment was made at a conference on cancer prevention and control held in the northern province of Thai Nguyen on Monday, Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.
Some 150,000 new cancer patients are recorded at 25 cancer hospitals and centres across the country with 70,000 deaths every year.
Overcrowding at special institutions is a pressing problem that cannot be solved overnight, participants at the conference said.
The Thai Nguyen Tumour Centre treats about 6,000 inpatients and over 19,000 outpatients annually with a majority of female patients diagnosed with breast cancer while lung cancer is more common in men.
The conference heard more than 50 reports on cancer prevention and early diagnosis, the use of radiation therapy and the current scenario in Thai Nguyen in 2011 and 2012.
The event was organised by the Vietnam Cancer Association in coordination with the Thai Nguyen General.
-Bernama
