DOH warns of irreversible nature of liver cancer

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Department of Health has warned the public on the rising cases of liver cancer, saying “people should not wait until they get cancer to practice a healthy lifestyle.”

According to Dr. Tristan Jediah Labitad, head of the non-communicable diseases cluster of the Department of Health Center for Health and Development Northern Mindanao (DOH-CHDNM), people generally neglect their health by indulging in non-stop eating and drinking, especially during the holiday season or in parties.

“We neglect it, but the impact of a healthy lifestyle is powerful sa atoang mga lawas,” he said during the Talakayan sa PIA forum here.

He explained that everything a person ingests eventually results in the development of diseases that not only affect the liver but also the colon. The colon is a commonly affected organ, he emphasized.

Citing DOH and World Health Organization data, Labitad said cancer is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer-related deaths in 2012 alone.

Cancer is the third leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the country after diseases of the heart and the vascular system, he said, quoting the Philippine Health Statistics survey in 2009.

Among Filipino men, the six most common sites of cancer diagnosed in 2010 were lung, liver, colon/rectum, prostate, stomach, and leukemia. Among Filipino women, the six most common sites diagnosed were the breast, cervix, lung, colon/rectum, ovary, and liver.

Furthermore, 189 of every 100,000 Filipinos are