223,000 Bulgarians have cancer

2010-02-09

There are 223,000 Bulgarians suffering from cancer, Zdravka Valerianova, the director of the National Cancer Registry, has announced. In 2008 in Bulgaria there were 34,000 new cancer patients and 17,000 cancer fatalities. The overall incidence of oncological conditions is increasing, on average, by 2% year on year.
A quarter of all women with cancer have breast cancer, with 3,622 breast cancer cases registered in 2008. The most common cancer among men is lung cancer, with 3,217 cases registered. Fifty-three percent of all new cases in 2008 are among people of more than 65 years of age, whereas 13.7% of all cancers are colorectal carcinomas, with 4,599 new cases found.
In general, in Bulgaria, cancers are discovered late, with the worst situation being that of lung cancer patients. The World Health Organisation has recommended that Bulgaria introduce a National Strategy for Cancer Treatment and Prevention, with the Health Ministry committing to prepare one in 2010.