Cancer cases grew in 2018, but deaths decreased: new stats from the HPA

Описание: Just before New Year, the Health Promotion Administration released detailed statistics about cancer in Taiwan. They show that in 2018, cancer cases rose again compared the previous year, but the number of cancer mortalities decreased. The most prevalent types were bowel, lung and breast cancer, with prostate cancer cases growing most rapidly.

The title says: one person gets cancer every four minutes and 31 seconds. These are the HPA’s latest figures on cancer in 2018.

Lin Li-ju
HPA Cancer Prevention and Control Division
Of the top 10 causes of mortality, bowel cancer has been No. 1 for 13 years in a row.

The figures reveal that the most common form of cancer is bowel cancer, followed by lung cancer, and then breast cancer. In 2018 there were 116,131 cases recorded, almost 4,500 more than in 2017. That meant the rate of incidence sped up by 11 seconds, to one new patient every four minutes 31 seconds. The biggest growth was seen in prostate cancer and lung cancer. While bowel cancer is still No. 1, its incidence among 50- to 84-year-olds fell, for the first time.

Dr. Wang Ying-wei
Health Promotion Administration head
In the past, our screenings detected cancer in its early stages, but nowadays screenings can reduce the prevalence of cancer. That’s one effect of screenings. We can predict that many types of cancer will gradually get less common, because of our preventative strategies and screenings.

Although the number of cancer cases continues to rise, cancer mortalities are decreasing. A cancer diagnosis is no longer what it once was. The HPA advises everyone to get their screenings regularly to take care of their health.