The proclamation stated that in 2003, a cancer needs assessment suggested that cancer was the leading cause of death in Yap.
Oral cancer has replaced liver cancer as the leading cancer in Yap with 32 cases, followed by lung cancer, 26; liver cancer, 20; breast cancer, 10; cervical cancer, 9; and prostate cancer, 9.
From January to December, 2009 there were 20 new cancer cases diagnosed in Yap and about 90 percent of the cost of medical referral for patients in Yap was spent on cancer patient treatment.
