Kelera Ditaiki 
[file photo]
Health experts are warning of a steady rise in gastrointestinal cancers with colorectal and stomach cancers among the most common and deadly forms seen in hospitals.
Gastrointestinal cancers affect the digestive system, including the stomach, intestines, liver, pancreas and colon.
Former Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete states this cancer can be life-threatening if detected late.
Former Health Minister Dr Ifereimi Waqainabete
“We’re a low-middle-income country, but our lifestyle is starting to look like that of high-income countries. Unfortunately, our resources haven’t caught up.”
Dr Waqainabete explains that official figures show around 5,000 cancer cases in Fiji but the actual number may be higher, as some patients are treated overseas through private insurance or welfare schemes and aren’t captured in national records.
“We’ve changed dramatically in just one generation, attributed to the fact that we, you know, have the worldwide available foods available to us are completely different.”
Dr Waqainabete links the rise in gastrointestinal cancers to rapid lifestyle changes especially in diet.
While surgeries are possible, many cases require stenting or bypass procedures, and pancreatic cancer survival rates remain low even with global best practices.
Dr Waqainabete adds that better screening, improved data collection and targeted care are urgently needed to tackle the growing burden of gastrointestinal cancers.
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