The countries of the former Yugoslavia record the highest death rates from cancer in Europe, while Malta is the country with the lowest death rate from this vicious disease. According to the latest data from the European Union (EU) Statistics Office, the highest number in 2021 was recorded in Hungary and Croatia.
”Both countries record more than 300 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants; Croatia 308.2, and Hungary slightly more than 309.9″, announced Eurostat.
In third place is Latvia with 283.6 deaths per 100,000 people, followed by Slovenia with a mortality rate of 277.3 and Serbia, where the number is slightly lower at 276.2. Mortality in Malta is 198.3 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Data on mortality from cancer, which is the second leading cause of death in Europe after cardiovascular diseases, are often used as indicators to assess the success of health systems in the fight against this disease.
Although significant progress has been made in the fight against this group of diseases, cancer remains a key public health concern and a huge burden on EU societies. The European plan to fight cancer, presented in February 2021, is the EU’s response to the increasing challenges related to this disease. Consisting of 10 leading initiatives and several supporting activities, it is part of the European Commission’s proposal for a strong European Health Union. The European plan to fight cancer supports the work of EU countries to prevent cancer and ensure a high quality of life for cancer patients, survivors, their families and caregivers. It is structured around several key areas:
prevention,
early detection,
diagnosis and treatment,
the quality of life of cancer patients and survivors.
To recall, every year 2.6 million people are diagnosed with cancer, and it takes 1.2 million lives. In 2021, cancer was the second leading cause of death in the EU with 1.1 million deaths, which was equal to 21.6 percent of all deaths in the EU.
It is estimated that around 40 percent of diseases can be prevented by applying existing knowledge, but that member states spend only three percent of their health budgets on health promotion and disease prevention.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that by 2040 there will be more than 29.5 million new cases per year. The most common forms of cancer that patients suffer from globally are: lung cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer and stomach cancer, Forbes writes.
E.Dz.
