Rates of oncological diseases in Latvia remain very high. Cancer remains the second main cause of death in the country. According to statistical data of the Disease Prevention and Control Centre, infection rates with oncological diseases have increased by 39% in Latvia over the past ten years.
While there were 53.6 thousand people registered with cancer in 2004, their number reached 74.6 thousand last year. Unlike other countries, Latvia has a higher proportion of advanced stages of cancer being discovered in patients. This results in higher mortality rates.
Latvian Oncologists Association does everything to increase awareness, because if responsible state institutions do not change their attitude and continue their policy of ignorance, Latvia could become one of the few countries in the world, where oncology rates do not improve and even threaten to reach the level of an epidemic.
The association notes that not only did the situation with oncological diseases not improve over the years in Latvia, it continues to get worse. This only notes the necessity for immediate action from Healthcare Ministry and Latvia healthcare legislators and to begin holding talks with oncologists to seek solutions to combat cancer in Latvia. Thanks to good diagnostic capabilities and effective treatment methods, cancer is no longer considered an untreatable disease. Specialists now see it as a chronic disease that can be treated.
In terms of compensated medications, Latvia is also behind less-developed countries.
Latvia is a rare European country, where new and improved cancer treatment medicine is not used during cancer combating procedures. (more)
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