The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported a 5.3% increase in the incidence of cancer in the West Bank in 2023 compared to 2022, and that breast cancer is the most common type of cancer, followed by colorectal cancer, lung and bronchial cancer, thyroid cancer, and leukemia.
The ministry added in a press statement on World Cancer Day that these five types constitute 48% of the new cancer cases recorded in the West Bank, despite the presence of more than 200 types of cancer.
The ministry added that the most common cancers among males are the lung and bladder, while among females they are breast and thyroid cancers.
The Ministry of Health pointed out that the fourth day of February coincides with World Cancer Day, which aims to raise the awareness of individuals and governments about cancer and its danger. This year comes in light of the difficult health conditions faced by the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which deprived millions of them of basic health services, including those provided to cancer patients.
There is no information on new cancer cases in the Gaza Strip, most of which have not been diagnosed due to the war on the Gaza Strip.
the suffering of cancer patients there has been exacerbated by the bombing, the prevention of medicine and the targeting of hospitals, and the Turkish-Palestinian Friendship Hospital is the only one that provides cancer services in Gaza and has stopped working due to its bombing.
