National Cancer Centre Singapore Launches Inaugural Liver Cancer Awareness Month
Tuesday, August 19 2008
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Liver cancer - the 4th commonest cancer among men and 2nd most fatal |
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Time to focus battle on controlling liver cancer especially with increasing new knowledge on clinical research and treatment options |
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Targets both public and the medical profession |
Singapore, 19 August 2008 – The National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) announces today the launch of the first Liver Cancer Awareness Month (Liver CAM) this September, aimed at educating the public about the disease and updating medical professionals on the advances in clinical research and treatment. This campaign is a follow on of the other major public cancer awareness campaigns such as breast and lung cancer awareness months (BCAM and LCAM) championed by NCCS.
2. Liver cancer is the *fourth most common cancer in Singaporean men and the *second most fatal cancer. Long-term hepatitis B infection is the commonest cause for primary liver cancer in Singapore. Hepatitis B, which is endemic in the population, can be detected through screening and prevented with vaccination. The vaccination is recommended for all who were not vaccinated previously, especially for adults at risk for hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection.
* Source: Singapore Cancer Registry interim report on year 2001-2005 statistics.
3. Liver cancer treatment has become more complex and hence the need for a multidisciplinary approach involving different types of specialists to improve survival outcomes. The campaign is planned by a multidisciplinary committee from NCCS, organised in collaboration with the SingHealth Polyclinics, and supported by Bayer Schering Pharma.
The objectives are:
- To raise awareness of liver cancer among the general populace by directing information to the public sphere on the condition, risk factors, symptoms and how it can be prevented.
- To provide liver cancer patients and their supporting caregivers with information on care and treatment options.
- To share and exchange updated knowledge on hepatitis B, liver cancer and treatment options with general practitioners (GPs) and specialists.
4. Hepatitis B is an infection that can lead to chronic liver disease and eventually liver cancer. Individuals may be infected at birth or through contact with body fluids. One can reduce the risk of liver cancer through prevention of hepatitis B by means of immunization and avoidance of contamination by infected body fluids.
5. The chairman of the Liver Cancer Awareness Month (Liver CAM) 2008, Prof London Lucien Ooi, Deputy Director and Senior Surgical Oncologist at NCCS said: “Although liver cancer is the second most fatal cancer, there is potential hope for cure if individuals go for early detection and appropriate intervention.”
6. During the campaign, with the aim to promote a more concerted effort to control liver cancer, the organisers plan to involve not only the public but also the medical professionals, who provide medical care.
7. For the public, the objective is to create awareness so that they would go for screening and vaccination as a preventive measure. To bring this message across, 400 vouchers for free hepatitis B screening at SingHealth Polyclinics will be distributed at two public forums. The public forums (one in Mandarin and one in English) will be held on 6 September, at the auditorium of HDB Hub. Titled “Liver Cancer and You – Prevention and Treatment”, the public forums will educate the public about liver cancer and the risk factors, Hepatitis B and its prevention as well as treatment options available. (See http://www.nccs.com.sg/livercam/main.htm).
8. For the medical professionals there will be two sessions, one for the general practitioners (GPs) and the other for the specialists. The GPs will participate in a forum on “Liver Cancer and GPs - Treatment Options and Case Studies” to be held on 20 September. Up to 200 GPs are expected to attend the forum, which will give an update on the disease and the latest treatment options available. GPs are also encouraged to bring cases on liver cancer that they have seen or need help with for the multidisciplinary case discussions. For specialists, NCCS will be conducting a roundtable discussion with the theme “Making Sense of Liver Cancer Management” that involves about 20 to 40 specialists from both public and private institutions, on 27 September, with the aim of discussing the current treatment options and guidelines for controlling liver cancer.
For further information, please contact:
NCCS |
Ms Adeline Teo
Corporate Communications Executive
National Cancer Centre Singapore
Tel: 6236 9429 / 8125 7251
Ms Carol Ang
Corporate Communications Executive
National Cancer Centre Singapore
Tel: 6236 9424 / 9845 5354
Mr Sunny Wee
Community and Media Relations Advisor
National Cancer Centre Singapore
Tel: 9274 6922 |
More campaign details at http://www.nccs.com.sg/livercam/main.htm
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