Today is World Cancer Day and the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) is emphasising that cancer is “not beyond us” in terms of cancer control and reducing the impact of the disease.
Elize Joubert, CANSA’s Acting CEO says “World Cancer Day is important because the global cancer epidemic is huge and set to rise. Currently 8.2 million people die from cancer worldwide every year – in South Africa, more than 100 000 are diagnosed annually. This day helps us spread the word and raise the profile of cancer”.
According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevent (CDC) more than twice as many people die from cancer than from Aids, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. The WHO projects that without immediate action, the global number of deaths from cancer will increase by nearly 80% by 2030, with most occurring in low- and middle-income countries.
Taking place under the tagline ‘Not beyond us’, World Cancer Day focuses on taking a positive and proactive approach to the fight against cancer, highlighting that solutions do exist regarding cancer care and early detection and that they are within reach.
As part of World Cancer Day, CANSA is hosting Open Days at its 30 CANSA Care Centres countrywide inviting communities, workplaces and the media to visit and find out more about our care and support programmes.
“We want to ensure fewer people develop cancer and that cancer survivors are successfully treated and offered care, support, guidance and advice to all those affected by cancer to ensure a better quality of life. We
know that cancer can have a serious impact on a person’s emotional, physical and mental state – so by understanding and responding to that impact – the quality of life for patients, their loved ones and caregivers can be maximised,” Joubert added.
CANSA provides comprehensive care and support programmes for cancer patients and their families, to help them find the best care solution and advice on managing side effects of treatment, be it physical, emotional and / or spiritual.
Joubert states, “Take part in our Open Days and find out more about how we work towards a cancer-free world. Many of our CANSA Care Centre teams also provide early detection screening programmes to help reduce the cancer risk, while our nine Mobile Health Clinics provide screening and early detection programmes in remote areas.”
She concluded, “For many people facing a cancer diagnosis, it’s the toughest fight of their lives. Maintaining social support networks and talking about cancer is important for both the person living with cancer and their caregiver. So we encourage cancer survivors to join our ‘iSurvivor’ e-online support programme. It’s a free, e-mail based programme written by a cancer survivor to help other survivors cope better. It’s a manageable guide with all the helpful resources available such as health information, where the nearest CANSA Care Centre is, how to lead a balanced lifestyle, how to reduce the risk of recurrence of cancer and where to find counselling and support.”
For more info visit www.cansa.org.za or contact CANSA toll-free 0800226622 or at [email protected] as email address. Follow CANSA on Twitter: @CANSA (http://www.twitter.com/@CANSA), Instagram (http://instagram.com/cancerassociationofsouthafrica) and join CANSA on Facebook: CANSA The Cancer Association of South Africa.
Pretoria SAnews.gov.za
First Lady Tobeka Madiba-Zuma says urgent action is needed to raise awareness and develop practical strategies to address the burden of cancer.
“Now more than ever, there is a need for a commitment to help drive advancements in policy and encourage implementation of comprehensive national cancer control plans,” said Madiba-Zuma.
Speaking a day before World Cancer Day, Madiba-Zuma — who is the founder and patron of the Tobeka Madiba-Zuma (TMZ) Foundation — said South Africans have a collective responsibility to support the Ministry of Health and NGOs who are tackling cancer amid insufficient resources and competing health priorities.
Madiba-Zuma encouraged everyone to use World Cancer Day for a concerted “advocacy push”.
She said government must live up to the new and ambitious global commitments and ensure that cancer interventions are adequately addressed in the next phase of the global health and development agendas.
World Cancer Day is observed every year on 4 February. The day is an opportunity to highlight the unique issues facing the country and the globe. It is also a platform to share best practice solutions and how they can be adapted in different settings.
Not beyond us
Taking place under the theme ‘Not beyond us’, World Cancer Day 2015 will take a positive and proactive approach to the fight against cancer, highlighting that solutions do exist across the continuum of cancer and that they are within reach.
The 2015 campaign will be articulated around four key areas of focus: promoting healthy lifestyles – prevention and screening; improving early detection; universal access to treatment for all and care – maximising quality of life.
Madiba-Zuma said the TMZ Foundation takes a positive and proactive approach to the fight against cancer. She said solutions exist across the board — from home to primary health care services to tertiary institutions and hospices for quality and holistic patient care.
Making these solutions work, she said, can only be realized through a close working relationship with all the stakeholders.
“Of great significance about this approach is that it gives us the opportunity to look at how we can, as a collective, implement what we already know in the areas of prevention, early detection, treatment and care.
“Cancer is not about statistics. It is a disease that knows no boundaries and has or will affect us all either directly or indirectly during our lifetime. Action taken by every person, organisation and government will reduce the burden of cancer and premature deaths from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) by 25% by 2025.” said Madiba-Zuma.
Currently, 8.2 million people die from cancer worldwide every year. About four million people aged 30 to 69 years die prematurely.
At least one third of the most common cancers can be prevented through vaccination, not smoking, reduction of alcohol consumption, healthy eating, obesity reduction and improved physical activity.
The adoption of healthy behaviour early in life reduces the risk of cancer and other NCDs in adulthood.
Pan American Health Organization / WHO ow.ly/I0xVz
16:30 Registration online RSVP (for attendance in person or virtual) by registering at: http://bit.ly/1DPS3Ae
17:00 OPENING REMARKS
Dr. Anselm Hennis, Director of the Department on Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health
17:10 EVIDENCE REVIEW: Scientific evidence on breast cancer screening
Dr. Ben Anderson, Global Breast Cancer Alliance and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
17:30 CLOSING THE BREAST CANCER DIVIDE: The case for investing in breast cancer screening
Dr. Felicia Knaul, Harvard Global Equity Initiative
17:50 PROGRAM EXPERIENCE: How The Bahamas has addressed breast cancer screening
Dr. Larry Carroll, Bahamas Breast Cancer Initiative
18:10 COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION: A civil society perspective on raising awareness of breast cancer
Dr. Maira Caleffi, FEMAMA
18:30 DISCUSSION
18:45 CLOSING REMARKS
Thumbs up to the NCDs cluster of the National Department of Health (NDoH) for its responsiveness to stakeholder recommendations. The draft cancer plan, National Plan for the Prevention and Control of Cancer 2015 – 2020 (NCCP) is being reviewed by multisector – all of society stakeholder meeting early next month. Click here to review this draft.
Feedback from stakeholders on the 2014 a draft NCCP made it clear that more consultation was needed. The initial stakeholder meeting to its content (organisational structure) and process of development (planning process) in Pretoria on 6 February 2015.
The aims of the meeting include:
- Identifying priorities in cancer prevention and control;
- Setting goals and objectives;
- Setting strategies for intervention;
- Setting processes and timelines to achieve a final draft.
Professor Melvyn Freeman and the cluster team are to be congratulated on the transparent and inclusive step. The 1999 NCCP needs urgent revision to provide an integrated, comprehensive people-centered plan for South Africa. The new plan must take into account:
- changing demographic and epidemiological trends
- global and national targets
- the health and developmental agendas.
For more information contact Elmie Engelbrecht at [email protected]
Click here to download the revised draft outline for consideration.
Patient- or person-centred care is the next paradigm shift in healthcare systems strengthening and it has the power to change lives. It shows the way to integrated NCDs care.
Understand more about PCCC by watching this series of 4 videos.
The 7 PCCC building blocks were developed by the LIVESTRONG Foundation has published the outcome of a symposium on patient-centred cancer care. It research list 7 key building block that can be utilised to deliver cancer care across a variety of settings.
Click here to download the PCCC report.
