KUALA LUMPUR: Cervical, ovarian, and uterine cancer were among top 10 dreaded diseases to affect Malaysian women.
This was revealed by the Malaysian Cancer Registry for the period between 2007 and 2011, said Women, Family and Community Development deputy minister Hannah Yeoh.
The HPV virus types 16 and 18 are responsible for about 70 per cent of all cervical cancer cases worldwide.
Yeoh said to counter these cancers, the government had resorted to implementing the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination.
Three HPV injections are given to women aged between 15 and 45-years-old.
Yeoh said that this year three million such vaccinations have been given.
"From 2012-18, 365,143 women have benefited (from the vaccinations), of which 68 per cent completed all three doses.
"In 2019, out of the 19,892 women who were tested for Gynae-Oncology related cancers, 886 were found to be positive," Yeoh said at a press conference after opening the 3rd edition of the National Gynae-Oncology Conference (NGOC 2019).
The three-day conference which will end on Sunday aims to update healthcare professionals regarding the latest updates in the highly specialised field of Gynae-Oncology.
Yeoh said as caregivers themselves, women should not neglect their own health and as such there was a need for them to get the necessary tests to ensure they were free of the three types of cancer.
The mother of two narrated her own experience with gynaecologists and reiterated the importance and the need for comfort when dealing with issues associated with "womanhood", which was often ignored.
In order to alleviate this, female patients would now be given a toll-free number, to receive, necessary therapy. They can call toll free at 1599.
In addition, Yeoh said the government was also planning to open Nur Sinjantra clinics to provide nationwide counseling on Gynae-Oncology issues.
Meanwhile, the President of the Malaysian Gynaecological Cancer Society (MCGS), Dr Vicknesh Visvalingam said they were looking at having at least two Gynae-oncologists for each district nationwide.