Two thousand five hundred oral cancer patients are annually admitted to hospitals countrywide.
It was nearly double the number of patients reported 10 years ago, Batticaloa Hospital Consultant Oncologist Dr. S. Madusanka said.
He was addressing a workshop on oral cancer jointly organised by the Batticaloa Teaching Hospital and the Arayanpathy Health Services Regional Director's Office, held at the Pudukuruiruppu Kannaki Vidyalaya on August 28.
Dr. Madusanka said the government spent Rs.750 million to treat oral cancer patients. Treatment for each oral cancer patient cost Rs.1.5 million.
The workshop also included the screening of attendees for oral cancer. Several other doctors, including Dr. M. Kirushanthy, Dr. Rathiwadanee, Dr. Bharathi and Dr. Mufis, were also present.