Health Protection Agency (HPA) has urged the public to be aware of the signs and symptoms of cancer as cancer incidence rates continue to rise in the country.
HPA made the appeal on World Cancer Day which is observed every year on February 4.
A significant proportion of all cancer diagnoses in the country are in people over the age of 50, according to HPA. The types of cancers most prevalent in country include lung cancer, breast cancer, cervical cancer, and oral cancer, it added.
“Most of the cancers diagnosed in the country are caused by lifestyle factors that are avoidable,” Senior Medical Officer at HPA, Dr. Razana Faiz said, adding that most cases of cancer caused by chewing of areca nuts, tobacco use, and poor diet.
No official statistics are yet available on the status of cancer in the Maldives, but HPA says it is currently working to establish a registry of cancer patients in the country.
World Cancer Day unites the world's population in the fight against cancer.
The day was established by the Paris Charter adopted at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium in Paris on February 4, 2000.
According to World Health Organization, currently, 8.2 million people die from cancer worldwide every year, out of which, 4 million people die prematurely (aged 30 to 69 years).