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Nirmala Bhoo Pathy: Cancer literacy should be made a strategic priority area in National Cancer Control Plans globally
Nov 10, 2024, 02:34

Nirmala Bhoo Pathy: Cancer literacy should be made a strategic priority area in National Cancer Control Plans globally

on LinkedIn:

“Thank you CodeBlue, for shining a spotlight on my insights from the recent World Cancer Congress in Geneva! It’s essential that we embrace innovative approaches like the use of art and drama, or even TikTok to boost cancer literacy and cultivate a deeper understanding within our communities.

This lovely piece serves as the perfect preamble to our hot off the press article in JCO Global Oncology, where we explored cancer beliefs in a vibrant, multi-ethnic Malaysian population and their links to perceived cancer risk and lifestyle choices among 2,008 adults. Our findings, surprisingly revealed that even in a largely young and well-educated populace, many participants held misconceptions about established cancer risk factors, with a sizeable proportion attributing cancer to mythical causes!

Our findings although rooted in the Malaysian context, provides empirical evidence to drive the message that cancer literacy should be made a strategic priority area in National Cancer Control Plans globally.

We just cannot treat our way out of cancer!

Also, there is an urgent need for investments in creative interventions to enhance cancer education and engagement.”

Beliefs on Causes of Cancer in the General Population, and the Association With Risk Perception and Lifestyle in a Multi-ethnic Setting.

Authors: Nur-Nadiatul-Asyikin Bujang, et al.

Nirmala Bhoo Pathy: Cancer literacy should be made a strategic priority area in National Cancer Control Plans globally

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Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy is a Professor of Epidemiology in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University Malaya, and practices as a public health physician at the University Malaya Medical Centre, Malaysia. She is also a visiting scholar at Queen’s University Belfast, United Kingdom since 2014. Dr Bhoo Pathy’s career is focused on optimizing life after cancer in resource-limited settings through research and advocacy.

 Dr Bhoo Pathy was the principal investigator of phase III of the ASEAN CosTs In ONcology (ACTION) study, comprising close to 10,000 cancer patients from eight low-and middle-income member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). She currently serves in two Lancet Commissions: the Lancet Commission on Women and Cancer and the Lancet Commission on Cancer and Health Systems. As the founder and scientific lead of a solution-oriented research group ‘Well with Cancer in Malaysia (WeCan@MY) https://spm.um.edu.my/wecan@my/ in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Nirmala Bhoo-Pathy currently oversees a wide range of studies on cancer care, cancer control and cancer policy, locally and globally.