KUALA LUMPUR – Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad has admitted that the country is currently grappling with a severe shortage of oncology specialists.
He told the Dewan Rakyat today that there are only 68 oncology specialists working in public healthcare facilities, which is insufficient considering the increasing number of cancer patients in the country.
“Yes, I am aware of and regret the ministry’s position. We recognise a severe shortage in training oncologists. Currently, there are only 60 oncologists pursuing a Master of Medicine and an additional 11 in the parallel medicine pathway. This brings the total number of future oncology specialists to just 71.
“We only have a few graduates each year, so the number of graduates for both the Master of Medicine and the parallel pathway is not large,” he said.
Dzulkefly was responding to a supplementary question posed by Yeo Bee Yin (Puchong – PH), who asked about the Health Ministry’s efforts to ensure adequate oncology specialists and cancer centres to meet increasing demand.
He said that currently, there are only 10 oncology centres in public hospitals nationwide, with three of them being university hospitals.
“I admit that we are encountering challenges in producing specialists in this field, and there is a pressing need to increase their numbers through both the parallel pathway and master’s programs in medicine,” he added.
Meanwhile, to address underreporting of cancer cases in the country, Dzulkefly emphasised the urgency of mandating the notification of all cancer cases to the Health Ministry across both public and private healthcare facilities.
“At present, cancer notification remains voluntary. It is crucial that we transition to a mandatory reporting system. Notifications will be processed online through our website,” he proposed.
“I propose mandatory reporting across both public and private hospitals,” he said.
Based on the national cancer registry for 2017–2022, Malaysia registered a total of 34,332 new cancer cases in 2020 and 31,688 in 2021.
Earlier, Dzulkefly outlined the ministry’s framework to promote early cancer screening and detection among Malaysians, which included four initiatives: the National Strategic Plan for Cancer Control Program (2021-2025); the National Strategic Plan for Colorectal Cancer Control (2021-2025); an action plan for the elimination of cervical cancer (2021-2030); and the Global Breast Cancer Initiative 2021.
For 2023, a total of 53,679 individuals have undergone colorectal cancer screening, and over 1.7 million women aged 20 to 65 have undergone clinical examination for breast cancer.
In the same year, a total of 364,689 women aged 30 to 65 have undergone pap smears and HPV tests to screen for cervix cancer.
He said the ministry has taken several steps to promote cancer screening, including the importance of cancer screening through mass media and social media, as well as preparing health education materials for the public, among others. – July 4, 2024