THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION HAS INDICATED THAT KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS OF CANCERS BY INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES CAN PLAY A CRUCIAL ROLE IN THE PREVENTION, DETECTION AND TREATMENT OF THE DISEASE.
WHO REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR AFRICA, DR LUIS SAMBO, SAID THE CANCER EPIDEMIC IN AFRICA IS ESCALATING, AND REVERSING THIS TREND IS FEASIBLE IF GOVERNMENTS, COMMUNITIES PARTNERS JOIN EFFORTS TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE DISEASE, AND REDUCE ITS RISK FACTORS BY USING PREVENTION AND EARLY DETECTION.
THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR STRESSED THAT CANCER COULD ALSO BE COMBATED THROUGH EDUCATION OF INDIVIDUALS, PARTICULARLY CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS, AND BY SCREENING FOR THE MOST COMMON FORMS OF CANCER IN OUR REGION -- CANCER OF THE BREAST, CERVIX AND THE UTERUS; PROSTATE AND DIGESTIVE TRACT CANCERS, AND WORK-RELATED CANCERS.
DR SAMBO CALLED ON GOVERNMENTS, INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES AND PARTNERS TO IMBIBE AND APPLY COST- EFFECTIVE INTERVENTIONS TO ADDRESS CANCERS AT INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY LEVELS.
WHO ESTIMATES THAT IN 2008, THERE WERE 681,000 NEW CASES OF CANCER IN AFRICA, AND 512,000 PEOPLE DIED FROM THE DISEASE.
IT IS PROJECTED THAT BY 2030, THE FIGURES WILL RISE TO 1.6 MILLION NEW CASES WITH 1.2 MILLION DEATHS.
THIS IS MAINLY DUE TO RAPID URBANIZATION, UNHEALTHY WORK ENVIRONMENTS, AND CHILD LABOUR WHICH INCREASE EXPOSURE TO CANCER-CAUSING FACTORS.
THE SITUATION IS MADE WORSE BY THE HIGH NUMBER OF INFECTION-RELATED CANCERS AMONG HIV/AIDS PATIENTS AS WELL AS THE HIGH COSTS OF MODERN CANCER TREATMENT WHICH MOST AFRICAN PATIENTS CANNOT AFFORD.
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