Day: February 4, 2023

As it marks World Cancer Day, the World Health Organization is calling for action to tackle breast cancer, the most common and leading cause of cancer deaths among women.

Every year, more than 2.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer, and nearly 700,000 die of the disease, which disproportionately affects women living in low- and middle-income countries.

WHO officials say women who live in poorer countries are far less likely to survive breast cancer than women in richer countries.

“Breast cancer survival is 50 percent or less in many low- and middle-income countries, and greater than 90 percent for those able to receive the best care in high income countries,” says Bente Mikkelsen, director of the Noncommunicable Diseases Department at the WHO.

She says the odds are stacked against women who live in poor countries, noting many must sell their assets to pay for the treatment they need.

She notes that women also are discouraged from seeking and receiving a timely diagnosis for their condition because of the stigma attached to breast cancer.

“A woman subjected to racial and ethnic disparities will receive lower quality care and be forced to abandon treatment,” she says.

WHO data show more than 20 high income countries have successfully reduced breast cancer mortality by 40 percent since 1990. It finds five-year survival rates from breast cancer in North America and western Europe is better than 95 percent, compared to 66 percent in India and 40 percent in South Africa.

Mikkelsen says by closing the rich-poor inequity gap, some 2.5 million lives could be saved over the next two decades.

“Time is, unfortunately, not on our side. Breast cancer will be a larger public health threat for tomorrow, and the gap in care will continue to grow.

She says that “by the year 2040, more than 3 million cases and 1 million deaths are predicted to occur each year worldwide. Approximately 75 percent of these deaths will occur in low- and middle-income countries.”

Coinciding with World Cancer Day, the WHO is launching a global breast cancer initiative to tackle the looming threat. The initiative contains a series of best practices for addressing this significant public health issue.

The strategy rests on three main pillars: early-detection programs so at least 60 percent of breast cancers are diagnosed and treated as an early-stage disease; starting treatment within three months of diagnosis; managing breast cancer to ensure at least 80 percent of patients complete their recommended treatment.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of the WHO, says, “Countries with weaker health systems are least able to manage the increasing burden of breast cancer … so, it must be a priority for ministries of health and governments everywhere.

“We have the tools and the knowhow to prevent breast cancer and save lives,” he says.

Benjamin Anderson, medical officer and lead of the WHO’s global breast cancer initiative, says one of the best ways to implement the initiative is through primary health care systems.

“The patient pathway is the basis of the three pillars of the global cancer initiative framework. What we anticipate is that by using awareness, education in the public, combined with professional education, it sets us up for the diagnostic processes that must take place and the treatment that has to follow.”

The World Health Organization warns failure to act now to address cancer in women, including breast cancer, will have serious intergenerational consequences.

It cites a study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer that reported that because of “the estimated 4.4 million women who died from cancer in 2020, about 1 million children became maternal orphans in that year,” 25 percent of which was due to breast cancer.

Mikkelsen observes, “the children whose mothers die from cancer experience health and educational disadvantages throughout their lives.”

WHO officials acknowledge the cost of drugs to treat breast cancer could be a matter of life or death. It notes the price of certain oral drugs is less than $1, while others range from $9,000 to $10,000.

As many countries are unable to negotiate prices, they say the WHO is working to increase the availability and affordability of breast cancer medication.

Source: Voice of America

Pope Francis called on Catholic clergy Saturday, especially those in Africa, to raise their voices against injustice and abuse of power by authorities. Francis was speaking to church leaders on his second day in Juba, South Sudan, where he is on a three-day ecumenical peace pilgrimage.

Pope Francis said Saturday the church should play a significant role in ending violence and bad governance in Africa by speaking out about injustices committed by those in power.

The pope said, if we want to be pastors who intercede, we cannot afford to remain neutral before the pain caused by acts of injustice and violence. To violate any right against any woman or man is an offense against Christ.

The pope was addressing Catholic bishops, priests, and nuns at Juba’s St. Therese Cathedral, where he also cautioned against remaining neutral to injustice.

He said we are called to intercede for our people, to raise our voices. We cannot afford to remain neutral.

Using a metaphor, the pope equated the Nile River, which passes through Juba from Lake Victoria, the world’s largest freshwater lake, to the Mediterranean Sea, as the tears of the people of South Sudan immersed in endless suffering.

The pontiff asked, how can we exercise our ministry in this land, along the banks of a river bathed in so much innocent blood, among the tear-stained faces of the people entrusted to us?

He challenged the clergy to be “courageous and generous souls, ready to suffer and die for Africa.

He told said we need courageous, generous souls ready to die for Africa,”

On Friday, Pope Francis urged South Sudanese leaders to shun violence and embrace peace and he also called on the international community to refrain from interfering in the affairs of a sovereign Africa.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is accompanying the ecumenical pilgrimage.

“My heart breaks. I can hardly speak with sorrow for South Sudan. I beg that at every level, from the president to the smallest child, that people find the mercy of God and are transformed. And that there is peace and good government,” Welby said. “That they will not steal money. That no one kills their neighbors for cattle.”

Rebecca Nyandeng, wife of South Sudan founding father the late John Garang, told citizens to shun ethnic divisions.

She said, I am heartbroken that Dr. John died for the independence of this country, yet the very people he died for are now killing themselves. By the fact that you are still killing yourselves, it means he had died in vain. Please accept one another, stop division and stop killing each other. God has come to us in the form of the visit of Pope Francis, Archbishop of Canterbury and Moderator General of the Church of Scotland.

The three religious leaders later, participated in a joint interdenominational prayer session.

This historic ecumenical visit by the prominent religious leaders is considered a sign of inter-religious unity and their commitment to bear witness to the Gospel, as well as an action to promote peace and reconciliation among the people of South Sudan.

Source: Voice of America