Payments accepted through 
Lifestyles are changing in Sri Lanka, and so are standards of public health. Increasing urbanization is resulting in a move away from traditional, freshly-prepared foods to a more processed, western diet. At the same time, environmental pollution is steadily worsening, the result of rising industrial emissions as well as greater reliance on pesticides in agriculture. And both at home and in the workplace, people are facing stress levels formerly unknown in this south Asian island of 20 million.
Experts believe these factors are contributing to the increase in all types of cancers in Sri Lanka. “We are acquiring a western-type lifestyle, which is a new experience for the Sri Lankan population,” says Dr. Kanishka Karunarathne, Director of the National Cancer Institute Maharagama in the capital, Colombo. To counter rising cancer levels, Dr. Karunarathne says he would like the government to do more to help raise public awareness of risk factors and how they can be avoided. “The general public needs to know about preventive strategies, but there are no proper education programmes in place,” he says.
Lack of cancer prevention and early detection are huge challenges to health professionals in Sri Lanka. “We don't have any cancer education or prevention campaigns through the mass print or electronic media. Nor are there proper screening facilities to detect cancers at an early stage,” says Dr. Karunarathne. “Resources are very limited, and therefore the emphasis is on curative facilities rather than preventive measures.” It is a situation that Dr. Karunarathne, who worked in gynaecological oncology in both the United Kingdom and the USA, would like to change.
“Prevention is better than cure because treatment causes enormous morbidity, psychological as well as physical,” says Dr. Karunarathne. He believes international organizations can play an important role in establishing prevention as part of the national cancer control programme. “They could help us formulate strategies for cancer prevention. They should be stakeholders in the strategy formulation, planning and, perhaps, funding,” he says.
Still, Sri Lanka has significant advantages over many other low-income countries. Firstly, all citizens are given a free education, so literacy levels are high enough to respond to public health campaigns. At the same time, the country has a free national health system. “This is a huge economic obligation for the country but it does mean that most people have established links with hospitals, which come under the control of the Ministry of Healthcare and Nutrition,” says Dr. Karunarathne. For this reason, Sri Lanka is well-placed to promote cancer education and prevention at the national level. “There are excellent mechanisms in place to get the message out at grass roots level,” he says.
Share the story