Associate Professor Le Van Quang, new Director of K Hospital, Hanoi, said that such misleading stereotypes about cancer not only appear in people with little scientific knowledge, but also in people with little knowledge of science.
Cancer appears in every region, every village or unit has someone infected.
`The incidence of cancer tends to be higher in developed societies, where people’s life expectancy increases and is related to the level and lifestyle of industrialization. This shows that the majority of cancer cases are due to lifestyle.
Cancer forms when cells come into contact with carcinogens, causing irreversible damage to cellular DNA.
Environmental factors and diet account for about 80% of the causes of cancer, such as tobacco, alcohol, ionizing radiation, ultraviolet rays… There are also a number of other causes such as genetics, infection.
Some cancer-causing factors and agents can be changed and prevented, such as smoking, drinking alcohol, chewing betel, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy eating habits, unsafe sex and infection.
According to Mr. Quang, fortunately, less than 10% of cancers arise due to endogenous disorders from within the body, genetic damage, and irreversible causes.
There are cases where doctors cannot determine the cause of cancer, because they cannot recall all the agents and risk factors that the patient is exposed to in life.
Another common misconception is that `going under the knife` for cancer causes the disease to spread faster and lead to earlier death.
`In fact, for most types of cancer, surgery is the most important treatment method to cure patients in the early stages,` Mr. Quang said.
The most mistaken belief among cancer patients is that `cancer is a death sentence`, and if treated, they can only live for a short time. The consequence of this prejudice is pessimism.
Today’s medical advances have helped many people cure or prolong their lives, depending on the type of cancer and stage of the disease.
Associate Professor Le Van Quang recommends that people need to change their lifestyle and screen for cancer early.
Dr. Quang recommends a healthy lifestyle, especially people over 40 years old, need to be screened for cancer early.
It is estimated that more than 300,000 Vietnamese people are fighting cancer, each year recording nearly 165,000 new cases and 115,000 deaths.
At K Hospital, last year the number of people coming for examination and treatment when the disease was in the early stages increased by 50%, compared to only 20-25% before.
Le Nga
