Every Year 100 000 Children Die of Cancer in the World

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 15, ARMENPRESS: February 15 is marked in all over the world as International Childhood Cancer Day. It was adopted September, 2001 in Luxemburg and has been marked since 2003 in 38 states of the world. 2-3% growth in cancer cases in all over the world is registered annually.

Gagik Bazikyan, deputy director of RA national oncology center, said today at a meeting with journalists that every year over 200 thousand children develop cancer and 100 thousand children die of cancer in the world. Gagik Bazikyan added that 7500 people develop cancer in Armenia. Childhood cancer cases make 80-100 and the number of cancer death cases of makes 30.

The speaker says those, who develop cancer, are mainly treated in Armenia and only in several cases they undergo treatment abroad. The state pays the expenses of cancer treatment.

‘Cancer treatment cases in all over the world make 90% and in Armenia – 70%. The matter is that people apply to us in late stages of cancer. Actually, in contrast to adults, who do not visit doctors frequently, cancer among children is detected earlier; however I should note that children develop cancer faster,’ Gagik Bazikyan said.

He noted that the first aid system must be strengthened and that the RA healthcare ministry undertakes corresponding steps in that direction. He said though patients mainly recover from cancer, they must be under consistent control of doctors for the rest of their life.

31 thousand people in the republic are under control of doctors and 1% of them are children.