by Deborah Cornwall, Cancer Advocate
Part 4: Cancer’s Global Reach and Efforts to Fight Back
Cancer isn’t just a North American problem, but a global one. According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), worldwide cancer incidence is rising from 14.1 million new diagnoses in 2012 to a projected 21.7 million in 2030 as a result of population aging. In addition, incidence and death rates could rise even faster in low- and middle-income countries that are adopting Western lifestyle habits (with their associated smoking, high-fat diets, reduced exercise, and infection problems); impacts are severe since many of those countries lack the medical resources and healthcare infrastructure to properly diagnose and treat the flood of diagnosed patients. The complexities of addressing such a cancer epidemic require multiple strategies, and many of them require research, collaboration, and information. They’re interconnected.