368 cancer victims between January and May

Cancer had claimed 368 lives between January and May this year, of which 209 were males and 159 females, and including one girl under 15 years of age and a male between 15 and 24 years of age, according to health minister Chris Fearne.

Fearne, who was answering a parliamentary question put to him by MP Luciano Busuttil, said that the figure included all types of cancer, but noted that lung cancer caused most deaths among males, while breast cancer claimed the most lives among women.

Data presented in parliament showed that, of the 209 men who died of cancer, another three were between 35 and 44 years old, 11 between 45 and 54 years old, 37 between 55 and 64 years old, 72 between 65 and 74 years old, 63 between 75 and 84 years old, and 22 were older than 85 years old.

Of the 159 women, two were between 35 and 44 years old, eight between 45 and 54 years old, 19 between 55 and 64 years old, 49 between 65 and 74 years old, 50 between 75 and 84 years old, and 30 were older than 85 years old.

The data showed that 936 people had died of cancer in 2015 (509 males and 427 females), 933 in 2014 (532 males and 401 females) and 870 in 2013 (466 males and 404 females).

Deaths caused by smoking

In reply to another PQ, Fearne also revealed that in 2015, 565 people had died because of smoking – 430 men and 135 women.

The number of deaths caused by smoking remained relatively constant in the past few years, with 544 deaths registered in 2014, 520 in 2013 and 575 deaths caused by smoking registered in 2012.