Liver disease, dubbed the “national disease” of Taiwanese for decades, continues to take the lives of an average of 35 people in the nation each day, and nearly 85 percent of liver cancer cases are caused by hepatitis B and hepatitis C, the Liver Disease Prevention and Treatment Research Foundation said.
The foundation made the remarks at a ceremony in Taipei on Saturday celebrating its 20th anniversary, during which it vowed to step up its decades-long effort to eliminate the cancer that has been the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the country.
“If every patient with hepatitis B and hepatitis C is willing to receive regular screening tests and treatments before their condition turns into cirrhosis, we will be able to put an end to liver cancer within 20 years,” foundation chief executive officer Yang Pei-ming (楊培銘) said.
“Most liver disease patients pay little attention to the illnesses as they do not exhibit any noticeable symptoms. It is our job to encourage them to receive proper medical treatment and regular examinations, to avoid the notorious liver trilogy of hepatitis, cirrhosis and liver cancer,” Yang said.
Government statistics show that there are more than 2 million hepatitis B carriers and 400,000 hepatitis C patients in the nation.
Research has also suggested that people with chronic infection with hepatitis B, which can be medically managed, are 100 times more likely to develop liver cancer than those without the infection.
Foundation chairman Sheu Jin-chuan (許金川) said the foundation was established by six medical experts in 1994, including late Academia Sinica academician Sung Juei-low (宋瑞樓), who was dubbed the father of Taiwan’s liver disease study.
"Ever since Sung decided to lead a group of doctors in taking off their white coats and establishing the foundation, free liver disease screening tests have been offered to more than 400,000 people, and a distance equivalent to 177 nationwide trips around Taiwan has been traveled to provide free clinical services and health education to people living in remote areas," Hsu said.
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