Cancer specialists/consultant oncologists noted that as per the available data, there is a risk of colorectal cancer becoming the second most common type of cancer among men in the coming years. At present, colorectal cancer remains the third most common type of cancer among both men and women.

This was noted during a press briefing held yesterday (9) by the Health Ministry’s Health Promotion Bureau on identifying and diagnosing cancer.

During the discussion, National Cancer Control Programme’s consultant community physician Dr. Suraj Perera explained that oral cancer is the most common type of cancer among men, followed by lung, colorectal, prostate and oesophageal cancers, respectively. Among women, breast cancer remains the most common with around 5,500 women diagnosed each year in Sri Lanka, followed by thyroid, colorectal, ovarian and cervical cancers, respectively. 

He added that around 35,000 to 40,000 new cancer cases are reported each year in Sri Lanka, with 37,753 cases recorded in 2021. According to him, an average of 100 to 103 cancer patients are diagnosed per day in the country.

“Cancer is on the rise in every country in the world. However, in developed countries, the number of deaths caused by cancer has been reduced. However, in our case, cancer-related deaths are increasing,” Dr. Perera said. 

He added that the number of people who died from cancer in 2020 was 15,245, which accounts for around 10% of all deaths that year and approximately 42 deaths per day. He opined that this was partly due to individuals delaying the adoption of preventive behaviours despite having the ability to do so as well as failures in ensuring early diagnosis and treatment. Dr. Perera stressed that early diagnosis, timely treatment, and the prevention of deaths are top priorities.