Saturday, the health authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan announced that they had recorded more than 70,000 cases of cancer in the region, on the occasion of World Cancer Day.
The head of the Cancer Control Center at the Ministry of Health in Iraqi Kurdistan, Dr. Shinar Ali, said in a press statement that 71,074 cancer cases were recorded in the Kurdistan Region, including 9,061 cases in 2022 alone, reports Al-Rai daily quoting Kuna.
Dr Shinar explained that Erbil came at the forefront of cancer cases in the region, followed by Sulaymaniyah, then Dohuk, pointing to the spread of 10 types of cancer in the Kurdistan region, the most common of which is breast and colon cancer.
The Directorate of Education in Sulaymaniyah announced that 369 teachers, students and education staff had contracted cancer.
This comes at a time when it is reported that some cancer treatment hospitals in Kurdistan have a shortage of necessary medical materials.