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PETALING JAYA: The Covid-19 pandemic has led to a boon in telehealth services and adoption of healthier lifestyles among Malaysians in the fight against cancer, says the Academy of Medicine of Malaysia (AMM).
“Cancer care did not receive the same level of attention in the past as was the case in many countries during the pandemic.
“However, Covid-19 has had some positive impact on our healthcare system,” AMM said in a statement issued in conjunction with World Cancer Day 2021 yesterday.
The academy noted the pandemic had accelerated the use of telehealth services for patients, including those with cancer, which helped bridge the access gap for the less mobile or those in rural areas.
AMM said the pandemic also led to an increase in public awareness of community-based care programmes.
“The government and health advocates must seize this opportunity to ensure this does not end with the pandemic,” the academy said.
It noted that one-third of cancers were preventable and community-based care programmes would empower communities to support one another in encouraging healthy lifestyle practices.
“This includes ensuring regular physical activity and discouraging poor habits, such as smoking and excessive junk food and alcohol consumption, to decrease their chances of developing cancer,” it said.
While the government must lead in enacting policies to reduce exposure to cancer risks, AMM said education institutions and the private sector had significant roles to play.
“Improving health literacy is vital in curbing the spread of misinformation and medical myths,” it added.
AMM also said companies could adopt programmes to encourage employees to maintain healthy lifestyles including conducting inoffice early detection screenings.
“The health of the rakyat is our collective responsibility, we must all be advocates and accountable for one another,” the statement added.
As for cancer specialists, AMM said there should be greater collaboration across all sectors.
“The culture in our health system must pivot to encourage more collaboration between specialist areas and departments.
“This will strengthen our ability to provide best-practice multidisciplinary care to cancer patients.”
Based on the Global Cancer Observatory, over 128,000 Malaysians were diagnosed with cancer since 2015.
According to the Malaysia National Cancer Registry Report 20112016, 63.7% of cases of the disease were diagnosed at Stages 3 or 4, higher than the 58.7% detected at the same stages in 2007-2011.
Last year, a total of 29,530 Malaysians died due to cancer. The most common in Malaysia are breast, colorectal and lung cancers.
Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Shah is the patron of AMM, which is a registered body representing medical specialists in the country comprising 11 colleges and 15 chapters.