Cancer-Causing Palm Nut Ravaging Myanmar
YANGON, Myanmar — Win Ko Ko couldn't believe it when his doctor told him he had tonsil cancer, and that the main cause was betel quid — a popular, and potent, alternative to chewing tobacco.
"I saw myself as already dead," he said. He started making preparations for his death with his family.
Ko Ko, 33, suffered from swollen tonsils and was bleeding from his mouth for two years before he finally went to hospital, where he was diagnosed with stage two tonsil cancer in July 2017.
But Ko Ko, who made a full recovery, is among the lucky few. Most patients, if they are ever diagnosed, put off treatment until it is too late.