 Prof. Dr. Murat Tuncer and Dr. Nejat Özgül came to Bilkent last Wednesday, March 3 to give a talk about types of cancer, prevention, the importance of early diagnosis and treatments. Both Tuncer and Özgül stated that the number of cancer incidents rises in Turkey daily, and stressed the importance of increasing cancer awareness in youth. For this reason, they decided to cooperate with Bilkent University to provide information to students about how to cope with this century's disease.
Dr. Özgül called attention to the high number of cancer incidents in Turkey and stated that since the early 2000s there has been a drastic rise in cancer cases.
“Research shows that every year, 150,000 people are diagnosed with cancer,” he said. “Turkey has spent 2.5 billion dollars on cancer in 2006 alone. If we do not enact preventative measures, the number of cancer cases will be doubled. But if we can create awareness and take necessary precautions we can save 1.5 million lives.”
 Dr. Özgül emphasized that smoking is the main cause for most types of cancer. Seventeen million packs of cigarettes are consumed per day in Turkey and people should quit smoking if they want to prevent this disease. In addition, he advised that we should eat fresh fruits and vegetables, decrease the proportion of fat in our diets, limit our consumption of alcohol and avoid intense sunlight in the summer so as not to develop cancer. Dr. Tuncer also added that we should try to keep cell phones away from our heads, especially while we are sleeping, since the radiation can potentially damage brain cells. As an extra precaution, we should use headphones while talking on our mobiles.
One of the doctors' important messages was that cancer can be prevented by such precautions and early diagnosis. Therefore it is very important for people to participate in, and support cancer fighting activities.
Dr. Özgül also informed participants about cervical and breast cancer. At the end of the talk, nurses and physicians from the Ministry of Health and the non-governmental organization SUVAK provided guidance on how to do self-examinations for breast cancer. For more information, please visit:kanser.gov.tr and kansernedir.net
Nagihan Aydın (ELIT/IV)
Bilkent News
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