2World Health Organization, Turkey Country Office, Ankara-Turkey
3Department of Public Health, Çukurova University, Faculty of Medicine, Adana-Turkey DOI : 10.5505/tjo.2020.2305 OBJECTIVE
This study aims to reflect the latest information about cancer frequencies and involving factors in Mersin province, Turkey.
METHODS
A questionnaire with 40-item consisting of 18 questions regarding demographic characteristics, the
behavior of lifestyle and health issues, 12 questions regarding health status, and 10 questions about the
health of nearby was applied by interviewers using face to face method to 9547 participants.
RESULTS
Out of 9547 participants, 122 of them (1.3%) was cancer patients, while 9425 (98.7%) were not diagnosed
with cancer. Average time since cancer diagnosis was 6.4±4.9 years. Out of 122 people that had
cancer, 24 people (19.7%) did not receive any cancer treatment. The most common incident sites of
cancer were breast, prostate and lung. There was a significant relation between cancer and smoking,
alcohol consumption, having a chronic disease, having a relative died from cancer and ever being have
a cancer scan.
CONCLUSION
Concentrating in regions that need more service and risky areas and increasing cancer training and
screening activities should be done. In the light of this research, similar studies in the future will help to
track cancer status and varying service needs.