3 FEBRUARY 2017 | GENEVA – New guidance from WHO, launched ahead of World Cancer Day (4 February), aims to improve the chances of survival for people living with cancer by ensuring that health services can focus on diagnosing and treating the disease earlier.
New WHO figures released this week indicates that each year 8.8 million people die from cancer, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. One problem is that many cancer cases are diagnosed too late. Even in countries with optimal health systems and services, many cancer cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when they are harder to treat successfully.
“Diagnosing cancer in late stages, and the inability to provide treatment, condemns many people to unnecessary suffering and early death,” says Dr Etienne Krug, Director of WHO’s Department for the Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention.
“By taking the steps to implement WHO’s new guidance, healthcare planners can improve early diagnosis of cancer and ensure prompt treatment, especially for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. This will result in more people surviving cancer. It will also be less expensive to treat and cure cancer patients.”
All countries can take steps to improve early diagnosis of cancer, according to WHO’s new Guide to cancer early diagnosis.
The three steps to early diagnosis are:
Improve public awareness of different cancer symptoms and encourage people to seek care when these arise.
Invest in strengthening and equipping health services and training health workers so they can conduct accurate and timely diagnostics.
Ensure people living with cancer can access safe and effective treatment, including pain relief, without incurring prohibitive personal or financial hardship.
Challenges are clearly greater in low- and middle-income countries, which have lower abilities to provide access to effective diagnostic services, including imaging, laboratory tests, and pathology – all key to helping detect cancers and plan treatment. Countries also currently have different capacities to refer cancer patients to the appropriate level of care.
WHO encourages these countries to prioritize basic, high-impact and low-cost cancer diagnosis and treatment services. The Organization also recommends reducing the need for people to pay for care out of their own pockets, which prevents many from seeking help in the first place.
Detecting cancer early also greatly reduces cancer’s financial impact: not only is the cost of treatment much less in cancer’s early stages, but people can also continue to work and support their families if they can access effective treatment in time. In 2010, the total annual economic cost of cancer through healthcare expenditure and loss of productivity was estimated at US$ 1.16 trillion.
Strategies to improve early diagnosis can be readily built into health systems at a low cost. In turn, effective early diagnosis can help detect cancer in patients at an earlier stage, enabling treatment that is generally more effective, less complex, and less expensive. For example, studies in high-income countries have shown that treatment for cancer patients who have been diagnosed early are 2 to 4 times less expensive compared to treating people diagnosed with cancer at more advanced stages.
Dr Oleg Chestnov, WHO Assistant Director-General for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, notes: “Accelerated government action to strengthen cancer early diagnosis is key to meet global health and development goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
SDG 3 aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Countries agreed to a target of reducing premature deaths from cancers and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) by one third by 2030. They also agreed to achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services, and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. At the same time, efforts to meet other SDG targets, such as improving environmental health and reducing social inequalities can also help reduce the cancer burden.
Cancer is now responsible for almost 1 in 6 deaths globally. More than 14 million people develop cancer every year, and this figure is projected to rise to over 21 million by 2030. Progress on strengthening early cancer diagnosis and providing basic treatment for all can help countries meet national targets tied to the SDGs.
Note to editors:
Most people diagnosed with cancer live in low- and middle-income countries, where two thirds of cancer deaths occur. Less than 30% of low-income countries have generally accessible diagnosis and treatment services, and referral systems for suspected cancer are often unavailable resulting in delayed and fragmented care. The situation for pathology services was even more challenging: in 2015, approximately 35% of low-income countries reported that pathology services were generally available in the public sector, compared to more than 95% of high-income countries.
Comprehensive cancer control consists of prevention, early diagnosis and screening, treatment, palliative care, and survivorship care. All should be part of strong national cancer control plans. WHO has produced comprehensive cancer control guidance to help governments develop and implement such plans to protect people from the onset of cancer and to treat those needing care.
Cancers, along with diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic lung diseases, are also known as NCDs, which were responsible for 40 million (70%) of the world’s 56 million deaths in 2015. More than 40% of the people who died from an NCD were under 70 years of age.
WHO, and the international community, have set targets to reduce such premature NCD deaths by 25% by 2025 and by one third by 2030, the latter as part of the SDGs. Countries have endorsed a range of targets to address NCDs, including making available and affordable basic medical technologies and essential drugs for treating cancers and other conditions in health facilities.
3 FEBRUARY 2017 | GENEVA – New guidance from WHO, launched ahead of World Cancer Day (4 February), aims to improve the chances of survival for people living with cancer by ensuring that health services can focus on diagnosing and treating the disease earlier.
New WHO figures released this week indicates that each year 8.8 million people die from cancer, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. One problem is that many cancer cases are diagnosed too late. Even in countries with optimal health systems and services, many cancer cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when they are harder to treat successfully.
“Diagnosing cancer in late stages, and the inability to provide treatment, condemns many people to unnecessary suffering and early death,” says Dr Etienne Krug, Director of WHO’s Department for the Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention.
“By taking the steps to implement WHO’s new guidance, healthcare planners can improve early diagnosis of cancer and ensure prompt treatment, especially for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. This will result in more people surviving cancer. It will also be less expensive to treat and cure cancer patients.”
All countries can take steps to improve early diagnosis of cancer, according to WHO’s new Guide to cancer early diagnosis.
The three steps to early diagnosis are:
Improve public awareness of different cancer symptoms and encourage people to seek care when these arise.
Invest in strengthening and equipping health services and training health workers so they can conduct accurate and timely diagnostics.
Ensure people living with cancer can access safe and effective treatment, including pain relief, without incurring prohibitive personal or financial hardship.
Challenges are clearly greater in low- and middle-income countries, which have lower abilities to provide access to effective diagnostic services, including imaging, laboratory tests, and pathology – all key to helping detect cancers and plan treatment. Countries also currently have different capacities to refer cancer patients to the appropriate level of care.
WHO encourages these countries to prioritize basic, high-impact and low-cost cancer diagnosis and treatment services. The Organization also recommends reducing the need for people to pay for care out of their own pockets, which prevents many from seeking help in the first place.
Detecting cancer early also greatly reduces cancer’s financial impact: not only is the cost of treatment much less in cancer’s early stages, but people can also continue to work and support their families if they can access effective treatment in time. In 2010, the total annual economic cost of cancer through healthcare expenditure and loss of productivity was estimated at US$ 1.16 trillion.
Strategies to improve early diagnosis can be readily built into health systems at a low cost. In turn, effective early diagnosis can help detect cancer in patients at an earlier stage, enabling treatment that is generally more effective, less complex, and less expensive. For example, studies in high-income countries have shown that treatment for cancer patients who have been diagnosed early are 2 to 4 times less expensive compared to treating people diagnosed with cancer at more advanced stages.
Dr Oleg Chestnov, WHO Assistant Director-General for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, notes: “Accelerated government action to strengthen cancer early diagnosis is key to meet global health and development goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”
SDG 3 aims to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages. Countries agreed to a target of reducing premature deaths from cancers and other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) by one third by 2030. They also agreed to achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to quality essential health-care services, and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all. At the same time, efforts to meet other SDG targets, such as improving environmental health and reducing social inequalities can also help reduce the cancer burden.
Cancer is now responsible for almost 1 in 6 deaths globally. More than 14 million people develop cancer every year, and this figure is projected to rise to over 21 million by 2030. Progress on strengthening early cancer diagnosis and providing basic treatment for all can help countries meet national targets tied to the SDGs.
Note to editors:
Most people diagnosed with cancer live in low- and middle-income countries, where two thirds of cancer deaths occur. Less than 30% of low-income countries have generally accessible diagnosis and treatment services, and referral systems for suspected cancer are often unavailable resulting in delayed and fragmented care. The situation for pathology services was even more challenging: in 2015, approximately 35% of low-income countries reported that pathology services were generally available in the public sector, compared to more than 95% of high-income countries.
Comprehensive cancer control consists of prevention, early diagnosis and screening, treatment, palliative care, and survivorship care. All should be part of strong national cancer control plans. WHO has produced comprehensive cancer control guidance to help governments develop and implement such plans to protect people from the onset of cancer and to treat those needing care.
Cancers, along with diabetes, cardiovascular and chronic lung diseases, are also known as NCDs, which were responsible for 40 million (70%) of the world’s 56 million deaths in 2015. More than 40% of the people who died from an NCD were under 70 years of age.
WHO, and the international community, have set targets to reduce such premature NCD deaths by 25% by 2025 and by one third by 2030, the latter as part of the SDGs. Countries have endorsed a range of targets to address NCDs, including making available and affordable basic medical technologies and essential drugs for treating cancers and other conditions in health facilities.
World Cancer Day is fast approaching, and there are many activities planned for the day. This is the second year that will fall under the 3 year “We can, I can” World Cancer Day campaign.
Use the links to go to each page for further details and information.
Download the full brochure with information here with images to use for social media.
There are multiple activities planned for the day:
29 November 2016 – On 5 December the world will celebrate those who give their time and generosity of spirit to those in need. CANSA will be celebrating the many volunteers who are dedicated to making a positive difference to the lives of cancer survivors.
“Without our network of about 7 000 trained volunteers we would not be able to deliver holistic care and support required by cancer survivors and their families throughout South Africa,” says CANSA Chief Executive officer Elize Joubert.
International Volunteer Day places a spotlight on these selfless people and the care, patience and compassion they display for people who need it most.
“We cannot express just how much we value the contribution our volunteers make to CANSA,” says Joubert. “As a non-profit organisation, we rely heavily on generosity of others and our volunteers continue to step up to pay it forward.”
CANSA’s volunteer network comprises many people who have been affected by the disease in some way – either they are survivors themselves or know someone who is. Then there are those who simply put their hands up to make a difference.
Sheila Moolman (64), a volunteer for 14 years at the CANSA Durban Care Centre, says she was reluctant to become involved at first as she was not a cancer survivor and didn’t enjoy the limelight. “But for some reason I accepted the challenge of running a cancer support group which required me to stand up and address the members on a regular basis.
“I have witnessed courage, fortitude and serenity in so many who have faced this disease and formed so many wonderful friendships. It fulfills me to witness the interaction between survivors and the support and comfort that they give each other.”
Sharon Fransman responded to an advert in the local newspaper in 2012 calling for volunteers at CANSA Wellington. “I immediately enrolled for the volunteer course and I believe it’s the best decision I ever made,” she says. “Often cancer survivors are just looking for someone who is willing to listen. When you volunteer, you become one of the most important companions on their cancer journey.
CANSA provides its volunteers with training and ensures that they receive the support that they require. “They learn from us and we learn from them,” says Joubert. “More often than not, our relationships with our volunteers result in life-long friendships.”
If you would like to become a CANSA volunteer, you can sign up at your local CANSA Care Centre, or register online http://www.cansa.org.za/become-a-volunteer/ or call toll-free 0800 22 66 22 . “You will find that as a volunteer, you find your life experience broadening in more positive ways that you could have ever imagined,” says Joubert.
Three-quarters of people on antiretroviral treatment at a clinic in Khayelitsha were also being treated for hypertension. Yet there is not enough information about how HIV and common NCDs such as hypertension and diabetes interact, or how medicines to treat them interact.
This is according to Dr Tolu Oni from the University of Cape Town, who is investigating the “collision” between HIV and NCDs.
“As people living with HIV are living longer, we are facing a new challenge. NCDs pose a new threat to people with HIV but there are many unanswered questions,” Oni told the international AIDS conference.
These questions include the extent of NCD co-infection, medicine interactions and how to co-diagnose and co-treat these.
Fattest nation
Aside from having the largest HIV population in the world, South Africa is the fattest nation on the continent.
Up to 70% of South African women and a third of men are overweight or obese, while a quarter of girls and one in five boys between the ages of 2 and 14 years are overweight or obese. Obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, hypertension, joint pain and certain cancers.
“Some NCDS are related to HIV infection itself and to the side effects of some of the medicines used to treat HIV infection,” according to UNAIDS. “Several of the opportunistic illnesses associated with HIV infection are NCDs in their own right, such as HIV-associated lymphoma and cervical cancer.”
Australian Professor Andrew Grulich reported that “the pattern of cancer and HIV is beginning to collide” as the population of people with HIV ages.
“There is an exponential increase in cancer as a person ages,” said Grulich.
A skin cancer called Kaposi’s Sarcoma was common in people with low immunity, but could be treated once a person was on ARVs. However, lymphoma was the most common cancer in people with HIV with mildly suppressed immunity, he said.
Californian epidemiologist Dr Melissa Frasco reported that two classes of ARVs were associated with an increase in diabetes, while “untreated HIV could lead to metabolic syndrome” (including obesity), which put patients at risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Supporting this, a Kenyan study has shown that HIV positive people who were not on treatment had significantly higher rates of hypertension than HIV negative people.
“Ageing with HIV is a huge issue in Europe, where people started ARV treatment earlier. Addressing this needs both a medical and psycho-social approach,” said Tamas Bereczky, who is both living with HIV and a researcher with the European AIDS Treatment Group. – Health-e News.
