Tumours, which cause almost one in three deaths, are the leading cause of death in the Balearic Islands, ahead of cardiovascular diseases.
Lung, breast and colon are the three cancers with the highest mortality among women and lung, colon and prostate among the male population.
On the occasion of today’s World Cancer Day, the Regional Ministry of Health urges the population to follow healthy lifestyle habits and to stop or reduce the consumption of alcohol and tobacco, as well as to participate in early cancer detection programmes to reduce the number of new diagnoses and deaths from this cause.
Tumours are the main cause of death in the Balearic Islands, ahead of cardiovascular diseases. Not only do they account for almost one in three deaths in the archipelago (29%), but they are also one of the main public health problems because they generate high costs, both health and emotional and social, and require a multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary and coordinated approach by the Health Service.
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The Regional Ministry of Health urges people to take part in early detection programmes and lead a healthy lifestyle to avoid cancer
Of the people who died of cancer in the Balearic Islands in 2023, the latest data available, 59% were men and 41% were women. The tumours with the highest mortality rates among women on the islands are lung, breast and colon cancer, and lung, colon and prostate cancer among men.
The Regional Ministry of Health therefore urges the population to follow healthy habits and lifestyles that avoid the harmful effects of alcohol and tobacco consumption, as well as obesity and a sedentary lifestyle. Tobacco, alcohol and obesity continue to be some of the most important and avoidable risk factors related to cancer. According to data published by the WHO, around one-third of cancer deaths are due to tobacco, infections, alcohol, sedentary lifestyles and inadequate diets due to insufficient fruit and vegetable consumption.
Smoking can cause up to eight types of cancer
Tobacco is by far the avoidable risk factor responsible for the greatest number of cancers, as it causes more than 90% of lung tumours and is a key causative agent in many other cancers, such as head and neck, urinary bladder, kidney, oesophagus, pancreas, stomach and colon and rectum, among others.
Health reminds us that the benefits of quitting smoking start from day one and within 10 years of quitting, the risk of dying from lung cancer is halved. Nationally, deaths from lung cancer outnumber deaths due to breast, colon and prostate cancer. Furthermore, the management and treatment of these tumours account for 15% of all cancer-related costs in this country. It is estimated that between the ages of 25 and 65, almost 30% of men and more than 25% of women smoke daily.
The Conselleria recalls that the Balearic Islands is participating in a multicentre pilot project in which most of the autonomous communities are present to implement a programme for the early detection of lung cancer. This tumour evolves asymptomatically, with 80% diagnosed when they have already spread.
At present, the Balearic Public Health Directorate General is coordinating two population screening programmes for the early detection of breast colon and rectal cancers among the general public through mammograms and faecal occult blood tests, respectively. Public Health is also finalising the implementation of a new programme for the early detection of cervical cancer through vaginal cytology tests and detection of the human papillomavirus (HPV) responsible for this pathology.
The Regional Ministry of Health urges the population to take part in them as one of the best prevention measures, recalling that the programme for the early detection of breast cancer is aimed at the female population between the ages of 50 and 69, who are invited to participate in it through a text message.
1,280 suspicious mammograms
The screening test is a mammogram. If there are no signs of malignancy, the woman is called back in two years. However, if the diagnostic test requires further studies, the patient is referred to the radiology department of her reference hospital for a complementary assessment. In 2024, 38,538 women registered in the Balearic Islands were invited to participate in the programme, of whom 25,588 had normal mammograms and 1,280 women were referred for complementary mammographic studies.
With regard to colorectal cancer screening, it is aimed at the general population aged 50-69 years. People are invited by letter to take a faecal occult blood test. If the result is negative, they are invited again after two years; if positive, they are referred to the gastroenterologist for diagnosis. Data from this programme for 2024 show that 105,685 people registered on the islands were invited to participate in the programme; of these 28,751 had a negative result in the faecal occult blood test. 1,469 people had a positive test result and were referred for colonoscopy studies to obtain a final diagnosis.