7675 new cases of the sick with cancer are registered at the hospitals

The number of the sick with cancer has risen by 4% in Armenia.

7675 new cases of the sick with cancer are registered at the hospitals of Armenia in 2009. These numbers have risen by 4% compared to 2008. 7336 cases of cancer were registered in 2008. The deputy director of the Center of Tumor Studies Gagik Bazikyan said during the press release organized at the invitation of the director of the Armenian-American Health Center Khachanush Hakobyan that the rise in numbers is not typical of Armenia alone. The number of the sick with cancer annually rises from 3 to 4% in the world. G. Bazikyan said that the most frequent are the cases of lung cancer. The cases of cancers of breast, stomach and large intestine are coming next in sequence. 52% of the known cases are mostly related to men who have lung cancer as the most frequent category of the disease. 48% of the sick among the women have mostly the symptoms of breast cancer.

G. Bazikyan says that the causes of the disease may vary. They include bad life conditions, excessive consumption of alcohol, smoking, the pollution of the environment and so on. He says that the rise of the number of the sick cancer is conditioned on the use of hormone grown food and excessive use of medicines. G. Bazikyan emphasized the importance of raising the level of the awareness of the society. ‘If people are informed and they understand that they need to visit doctors in a due time, the full recovery is more likely in that case. The disease in its nascent stage and thnaks to timely medical examinations allow curing a person,’ said G. Basikyan. He noted that there are considerable number of people in the republic whose cancer was diagnosed at an early stage and who were able to recover completely.

According to K. Hakobyan, the numbers of the visitors to the ‘Armenia-American Aid Center’ have risen for the past years. He said that nowadays not only do the sick visit the Center but also healthy persons visit it too. ‘Our visitors’ 30% are coming for preventive examinations. There are, however, numerous people who visit the doctor only when no other option is left. The possibility of the successful treatment of the decease decreases under such circumstances,’ said K. Hakobyan.

G. Bazikyan said that if the disease is diagnosed at early stage than a person is 90% likely to be cured completely. In the second stage, 55-60% of the sick persons are likely to be cured. In the third stage it is possible to extend the length of life of a person.  ‘The cancer does not have special symptoms since it is hidden within other diseases. For this reason it is important to undergo frequent examinations in order to be make an early medical intervention effective,’ said G. Bazikyan.

In his words, the state makes efforts to raise money for medical treatment of the decease within the framework of state order.