Cancer Responsible for 15 Percent of all Deaths in Thailand

Cancer has been the number one cause of deaths for 13 consecutive years

 

THAILAND – According to the Public Health Ministry, cancer kills more than 60,000 people in Thailand each year, or 15 percent of all deaths in the country.

As February 4th is recognized as “World Cancer Day” by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Union Against Cancer (UICC), Permanent Secretary for Public Health Narong Sahametapat revealed that around 13 million people worldwide are suffering from cancer, 7.6 million of whom succumb to the deadly disease each year, with the majority of 1.37 million killed by lung cancer. He added that the number of cancer deaths seemed to be on the rise as the WHO expected cancer death rates to topple 13 million in the next 16 years.

As for Thailand, he said cancer has been the number one cause of deaths for 13 consecutive years. Statistics show that over 61,000 Thais are killed by the disease annually, accounting for 15 percent of all deaths. The number of cancer patients rise by 3,000 every year in Thailand, he added.