Registering firmly in the realm of not-so-great news, one expert is estimating Vietnam could have the most cancer cases in the world by 2020.
Do Ngoc Chinh of the Center for Study and Consultation on Consumerism believes cancer rates in the country could rise as high as 200,000 newly diagnosed cases per year by the end of this decade, reports Saigon Giai Phong.
Since 2000, the number of new cancer cases in Vietnam has grown from 69,000 to 150,000 in 2015, an increase which health officials attribute to factors such as unsafe food, pollution, smoking, prolonged life span and genetics. Unsafe food is, in fact, the leading cause with up to 35% of patients being diagnosed due to the consumption of foods containing carcinogens. According to Chinh, the use of antibiotics and the treatment of livestock both contribute to these unsafe products.
Beyond the actual causes of cancer, health officials also raised concern over the increasing costs of treatment which many patients cannot afford.
[Photo via Thanh Nien]
