25 years ago, the International Union for Cancer (UICC) declared World Cancer Day. Its aim is to raise awareness of this disease, for which almost 10 million people die worldwide every year.
Tumour diseases are the second most common cause of hospitalisation and the second most common cause of death in the Slovak Republic. We have about 13,000 deaths from cancer every year, while 12,773 in men are the most common cancers of prostate cancer, colon and rectum cancer and lung cancer in 2022. In women, it leads breast cancer, colon and rectum cancer, and cancer of the body of the uterus. The most common oncology diseases in children are leukemia, brain malignancies and lymphomas.
Thirty to 50 percent of cancers can be prevented. Cancer screening, called onco-control, is one of the most effective tools to fight cancer. It serves to catch cancer at an early stage in an apparently unsympathetic population. Early detection of cancer increases the chances of successful treatment and at the same time is less costly for healthcare.
In the Slovak Republic, three types of onco-control are currently fully covered by public health insurance: cervical cancer screening, colon and rectum cancer and breast cancer. Currently, lung cancer screening and prostate cancer screening programmes are under preparation.
Reducing risk factors that contribute to cancer development is also an important part of primary prevention. These include smoking, alcohol consumption, obesity, lack of physical activity or infection with viruses such as human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV infection can cause cervical, vagina, vulva, anus, penis, head and neck cancer. The most effective prevention against HPV infection available to the world today is vaccination. In the Slovak Republic, he is covered by public health insurance for girls and boys aged 12 to 15.
