The Democratic Party has organized a march on World Cancer Day to raise awareness on fight against cancer.
Former opposition MPs and citizens held slogans reading “We love life, we love ourselves,” and urged people to have regular health checks. They also called on the government to make the right investments to prevent and detect the disease in its early stages.
Albana Vokshi, chairwoman of the Democratic League of Women, said the number of Albanians diagnosed with cancer has increased steadily:
“Albania has more than alarming figures, 20 new cases a day diagnosed with cancer were recorded last year; approximately 7,000 new cases a year. An even more frightening figure is the 20-25% survival rate in Albania, which is 65-70% per cent in UK and 85-90% in Italy.”
Vokshi emphasized that Tirana’s citizens are particularly exposed to the disease as they live in one of Europe’s three most polluted cities, while the government has not provided sufficient infrastructure and funding to cure cancer.
