Despite stricter laws banning smoking in public places, including cafes, bars and nightclubs, that have been in force since 2010, deaths from lung cancer in Greece show no sign of abating.
Scientists reported this week that there are still 7,000 deaths related to lung cancer every year in Greece, noting that the number of lung cancer sufferers has increased from the previous year and that the disease has become a serious public health problem. The number of incidents treated by cancer clinics in public hospitals has increased over the last year, an increase attributed to both a rise in the number of incidents and the economic crisis that sends people that would have otherwise sought private health care to the public health system.
Cases at the Sotiria Hospital cancer clinic have increased by 24-30 per cent as a result, while lung cancer remains the top cause of death among both men and women, surpassing breast cancer for the latter. The figures were presented during a press conference to announce the 2nd International Concerence on Lung Cancer “From the Laboratory to Clinical Practice” that will be held in Athens on February 3-4. Doctors note that there have been minimal improvements in patient survival rates once cancer is diagnosed over the years and that the chemotherapy normally used to treat such cases had reached their limits. “We need different strategies, beyond chemotherapy, in order to achieve a significant extension of patient survival and to ensure a satisfactory quality of life for them,” they noted.
Source: Athens News