Cancer remains a formidable adversary that afflicts all communities without discrimination or boundaries. It impacts the lives of millions, making it a major, increasing public health problem worldwide.
The year 2020 is the second of the new three-year campaign by the Union for International Cancer Control, called “I Am and I Will". This theme constitutes an empowering call for personal commitment and highlights the power of our actions today in reducing the growing impact of cancer. Prof Vikash Sewram, director of the African Cancer Institute in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at SU, reflects on where we stand today.
Global and local cancer statistics
In 2018, the global cancer burden was estimated to have risen to 18,1 million new cases and 9,6 million deaths. Unless greater effort is put into altering the course of the disease, this number is expected to rise to close to 30 million new cases by 2040. As it stands, one in five men and one in six women worldwide will develop cancer during their lifetime, and one in eight men and one in eleven women will die from the disease.
With South Africa's population of approximately 59 million both growing and ageing, the national caseload is expected to double by 2040. Cancers of the breast, cervix and prostate continue to dominate, with a similar profile extending into the rest of Africa.
Cancer remains the sixth leading cause of mortality in the country. It is important to note, however, that about 30% of cancer deaths are due to the top five associated behavioural and dietary risks, i.e. high body mass index, low fruit and vegetable intake, lack of physical activity, tobacco use and alcohol use. Many cancers can be prevented by limiting these common risk factors.
What is preventing early detection?
Prevention efforts linked to early detection and diagnosis are likely to offer improved prognoses and better outcomes. Prevention also offers the most cost-effective long-term strategy for the control of cancer. This strategy is currently viewed as more realistic, socially responsive and financially sound than the aggressive therapeutic options of chemotherapy, surgery and radiation.
But barriers that prevent millions of people globally from receiving an early diagnosis and better treatment exist at the individual, health system and government level. There are huge disparities in health resources (infrastructure, human resources, access to treatment, etc.) that make populations in Africa, including South Africa, extremely vulnerable to late detection and treatment.
The encouragement and support of spouses and other family members are key to minimising individual-level barriers to early detection, screening and diagnosis. Feelings of shame and fear, combined with poor health awareness and cultural beliefs, can keep an individual from utilising medical care or screening programmes.
Barriers at the level of the healthcare system include, among others, low cancer awareness among healthcare workers (especially at the primary care level) and the lack of efficient, timely referral for testing and diagnosis. Continued efforts to raise cancer awareness, strengthen healthcare system capacity and improve access to treatment and support services remain core to curbing the rising cancer epidemic.
Working together
Decades of research and medical ingenuity have improved and extended the lives of many cancer patients, but despite these advances, a combined effort between the public and private sectors, academia, advocacy groups and patients is required to beat this complex disease.
SU's African Cancer Institute has built robust partnerships with world-renowned research and training institutions as well as advocacy and support groups to ensure that the best minds work cohesively to bring hope to cancer patients and their families worldwide.
* This article featured in the latest edition of Stellenbosch University (SU)'s multi-award winning publication Research at Stellenbosch University . Produced annually by SU's Division for Research Development (DRD), this flagship publication offers the national and international research community as well as other interested parties a comprehensive, yet accessible overview of innovative and interesting research being done at the institution.The theme of the edition is Research for Impact which is one of SU's core strategic themes from its Vision 2040 and Strategic Framework 2019–2024.
Click here to access the virtual copy.
