Cancer can happen to anyone, at any age, today or tomorrow says Acting Prime Minister and Attorney-General Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum made this comment during the Jack’s of Fiji Pinktober morning tea at the Saffron Tandoori Restaurant in Damodar City, Suva, yesterday.

He said one of the problems was everyone’s inability to report these cases much earlier on and the tendency of relying on traditional medicines.

He said sometime back, he had a staff member, who for a long period of time depended on herbs, leaves and other things.

“It came to a stage now where it has become life threatening.

“Those traditional remedies did not work for him.

“I am not saying not to do it at all, but the idea is to get consulted through traditional remedies as well as go see a mainstream doctor and know what’s best for you,” he said.

Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said: “We all should be concerned about cancer like we are about domestic violence and same way we all should be concerned about non-communicable diseases.

“It is a part of our society and a part of our problem.

“The fact is, people getting ill, by them battling with cancer, they are not able to contribute to the society.

“They are not able to contribute to the family’s well-being.

“It should be everybody’s responsibility and duty to ensure that we all are concerned about our well-being.”

He acknowledged the cancer survivors for sharing their stories and their experiences to all.

“It is not easy to talk about your own health issue to make it a public issue.

“I would like to thank all the cancer survivors for sharing their experiences with us.

“It is only through knowledge, it is only through sharing of information, we will eliminate cancer,” Mr Sayed-Khaiyum said.

Edited by Maraia Vula

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