A new website for breast cancer awareness, breastcancerdetect.health.gov.lk, was launched today (16) at the Ministry of Health.
The website was introduced in collaboration with the National Cancer Control Programme and the Ministry of Health under the patronage of Minister of Health Keheliya Rambukwella.
The website includes awareness on cancer and the ability to make appointments for examinations through an online system.
The website is part of a five-year plan of the National Cancer Control Programme.
In 2019, 7,444 cases of breast cancer were reported in the country which has exceeded 5,000 by 2020.
The Health Ministry said 60% of the cases reported in 2019 were stage I and II cases.
The Ministry said as of 2020, according to reports, 27 women among 100,000 were identified as breast cancer patients in Sri Lanka while 11 women succumbed to the cancer.
A majority of the women were between 45-50 years of age.
Minister Keheliya Rambukwella speaking at the occasion said many transformations took place in Sri Lanka with the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the use of internet platforms and the health sector underwent a transformative change.
The Minister said trends such as the digital vaccination certificate and the introduction of the QR code for fuel are transformational changes that occurred in the country recently.
He added it is crucial to use technical strategies especially for the National Cancer Control Programme while many developed countries are already using such methods.
Minister Rambukwella said although a developing country like Sri Lanka cannot enforce immediate transformations, such strategies are an urgent need and must be enforced with time.
