More than 14 million people develop cancer every year: WHO
05 February, New Delhi
More than 14 million people develop cancer every year, and this figure is projected to rise to over 21 million by 2030, says World Health Organisation (WHO).
Cancer is now responsible for almost one in six deaths globally, the Health Organisation said. The latest guidance from WHO 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.
Latest WHO figures indicate 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,” Dr Etienne Krug, Director of WHO’s Department for the Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention said.
“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.”
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 prioritise basic, high-impact and low-cost cancer diagnosis and treatment services.
The Organisation 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.
The WHO said 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.