Few cancer cases make it to hospital in Tanzania

Ummy Mwalimu, Tanzanian health, community development, gender, elderly and children minister

This, according to the Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children Minister Ummy Mwalimu is about 26% of all the annual cancer cases estimated to be diagnosed in the country.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that there are 50,000 cancer cases in Tanzania each year. But about 70% arrive at stages, 3 or 4 when the cancer is too difficult to treat.

Data from the Ocean Road Cancer Institute show that cancer of the cervix leads among all the cancer cases, with 32.8%, followed by breast cancer which takes 12.9%.

Kaposis Sarcoma causes 11.7% of the cancer cases in the country, followed by head and neck cancers that carry 7.6%.

Lymphoma is estimated to cause 5.5%, followed by blood cancers that take 4.3%.

The rest, such as bladder cancer (33.2%), skin cancer (2.8%), cancers of the eyes (2.4%) and prostate cancer which causes 2.3%of the cancers.