For many years, I have visited patients with cancer and attended innumerable funerals of those who fell victim to this deadly reality.

I am aware of the many support groups set up over the years. The government has, for many years, supplied us with information and launched awareness and screening campaigns. Yet, the occurrence of this disease continues to increase.

Projections indicate numbers will probably continue to rise. This could sound like a contradiction. How is it possible that, despite the information available, cases continue to increase in number?

Some could jump to the conclusion we are not doing enough to take care of our own health.

Quite often I meet people who express themselves in this way. Perhaps there were times when I thought so too.

I began to think otherwise last January 15. On that day, my family received the bad news that my wife had cancer.

The shock was doubly strong because we had our medical tests just a few weeks before and the results did not indicate anything of the sort.

Over the past weeks we experienced a complete change in the way we were used to live. Every single day has brought a new experience. The tests carried out were innumerable. The people who supported us on this trip cannot be counted. I thank them all.

The medical teams at Mater Dei Hospital went out of their way to explain what we were facing and did their very best to ensure that my wife, and all the other patients, did not suffer unnecessarily.

This is not easy, in the circumstances. On January 30, my wife underwent an operation which lasted several hours to complete. Here, again, I thank all the medical teams involved.

She spent a few days at the intensive therapy unit, followed by several weeks of recovery in a ward.

Every day meant some new experience.

However, one of the experiences I lived to the full was the fact that so many of the patients we met were also going through the same thing. They were not, in any way, aware of the illness developing inside their body. Very often, the patient gets to know about the reality when it is a bit too late.

This was also recounted to me by relatives of patients receiving chemotherapy.

Facing cancer has proved to be a very difficult process. Once more, I thank all those who were involved and those who will continue to be involved in our long and winding experience.

Finally, I believe that the various voluntary groups who work in this field would do well to visit the hospital wards on a regular basis because most people are not prepared to look for help themselves unless someone does not hold their hand.

Many are not able, or strong enough, to face this reality on their own and information I got over the past weeks indicates that particular areas of our body are falling victim more often.

I believe that this trend should be studied and the knowledge acquired used to prepare ourselves better.

This should help us better understand any possible symptoms that flag the reality of existing dangers.

These dangers are various and probably innumerable, yet facing them is very personal and difficult to prepare for.

Ċensu Galea is an architect by profession and a former Nationalist Cabinet minister.