Call to make cancer notifiable
2006-01-22 20:08
Johannesburg - Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is to discuss the possibility of making cancer a notifiable disease.
A meeting has been organised by the National Cancer Registry, which had been experiencing problems collecting data on new cancer cases, said spokesperson Charity Bhengu.
"Data collection has declined, making it difficult to publish complete and reliable statistics on the prevalence of cancer in South Africa," said Bhengu.
The last cancer statistics were released in 1999, when at least 60 000 new cases were reported.
Declaring cancer a reportable disease, would improve data collection as every newly diagnosed case would be reported to the registry.
The World Health Organisation, Medical Research Council and other organisations involved with the prevention and management of the disease are expected to attend the talks.
- SAPA