Cancer: How to combat Oman’s top health concern?

Muscat: The increasing rate of cancer prevalence in the Sultanate of Oman over the years is a matter of concern and it is important for everyone to contribute to reducing it, said Dr. Saleh bin Saif Al Hinai, a Senior Consultant Family Medicine physician.

 Dr. Al Hinai added that there are six tips to help prevent cancer, which are as follows:

 1- Do not smoke: Smoking causes cancer of the lung, mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach, pancreas, liver, kidneys, cervix, bladder, colon, and leukemia.

2- Do not drink alcohol: drinking alcohol causes cancer of the breast, throat, esophagus, stomach, liver, pancreas and colon.

 3- Early screening for cancer: After the age of 45, it is recommended to do a colonoscopy and mammogram.

 4- Reduce meat and increase vegetables and fruits.

 5- Exercise or play a sport for at least half an hour everyday.

 6- Maintain a healthy weight.

The Ministry of Health, represented by the National Oman Cancer Registry at the Department of Non-Communicable Diseases in the Directorate General of Primary Health Care, has released the latest cancer statistics in the Sultanate of Oman for 2019, where the total number of diagnosed cases reached 2,307 (Nationals and non-nationals).

The number of Omani patients diagnosed with cancer in 2019 was 2,089. Cancer was also the third cause of death in hospitals, after and diseases of the circulatory system followed by respiratory ailments.

 The frequency distributions of cancer incidence rates showed that the number of Omani females was higher than those of males, reaching 1,158 (55.43%), while the number of males was 931 (44.57%). 124 cases were recorded among children less than 14 years of age.

 The average age at diagnosis is 54 years, which increases among males to reach 60 years compared to 50 years for females.

 The data also showed that the crude cancer rate among Omanis is 69.6 per 100,000 males and 87.9 per 100,000 females. According to the standard world population table ASR, the global average indicates 113.6 per hundred thousand Omanis and 122.4 per hundred thousand Omanis.

 Breast cancer still ranks first among all cancers in general and among women in particular, as the number of cases has reached 350, and 31 percent were diagnosed in the third and fourth stages. Thyroid cancer ranked second among all cancers of both sexes.