Cancer is the number one cause of potentially lost years of life for Cubans, assured Dr. Carlos Martínez Blanco, head of the cancer control department of the Cuban Ministry of Health, at the inauguration of the oncology congress in Havana on 23 November, the press service of the Cuban Ministry of Public Health said.
This indicator means the number of years that one could live to a certain age if there were no deaths from the cause under study before reaching said age.
The doctor explained that since the 1970s cancer has been one of the three leading causes of death on the island, and since 2000 the disease has become the leading cause of potentially lost years of life for Cubans.
“The spread of this disease poses new challenges in the fight against it”– said the head of oncology.
The Oncology Congress at the Havana Convention Center, organized by the Cuban Society of Oncology, Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine, will last until November 25.
During three working days, the Congress will host eight scientific events: XII National Congress of Oncology, II Cuban Symposium of Oncology Radiotherapy, II National Meeting of Oncological Gynecology, III National Congress of Mastology, I Cuban Symposium of Medical Oncology, I Cuban Symposium of Medical Oncology, Immuno-Oncology Symposium, II Cancer Symposium and the 7th Cancer Nursing Meeting.
Let us remember that the Republic of Cuba has reached the highest life expectancy in Latin America, which, together with other factors, leads to an aging population.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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