Delivery of Care
Food insecurity: Why screening for access to nutrition should be part of cancer treatment everywhere
Sixteen-year-old Sahil Bacchav had just finished his tenth grade exams when he developed terrible headaches and a feeling that his nose was blocked. He was referred to King Edward Memorial…
Cancer care in Ukraine, one year on
I make two appointments to speak to Anna Uzlova of Inspiration Family, a Kyiv-based foundation set up in September 2020 to support adult cancer patients. The first time the interview…
Immunotherapy: outcomes of ultra low-dose trial offer hope for better global access
Doctors at the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai have shown that an ultra-low dose of the immunotherapy drug nivolumab significantly improves survival in patients with recurrent or newly diagnosed head…
What do you say when your patient can’t stop worrying about recurrence? Here’s what you told us
It isn’t over when treatment’s over. Even if, as far as the clinician is concerned, therapy has been successful and the cancer is effectively ‘cured’, cancer patients often experience a…
HPV vaccination set to be rolled out across Turkey… with controversial exclusions
Turkey’s minister of health announced on 24th November that the government is planning to start an HPV vaccine rollout. “We will start vaccination with a designated group and gradually expand its…
Helping cancer patients preserve their fertility in one of Europe’s least supportive states
It was the end of the first pandemic summer, when Edyta, a 35-year-old active entrepreneur from Łódź, Poland, received an email informing her that she had been diagnosed with breast…
Tackling cancer when there’s no functioning state: the Al-Amal model
Six years ago, Mada accompanied her daughter to the gynaecologist for an early pregnancy scan. Whilst she was there, the physician suggested Mada herself get a check-up. “The doctor at…
Unicorns for Ukraine: mobilising to meet patients’ changing cancer care needs
When Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, consultant clinical oncologist Mohammed Hojouj put out a call for help: “Cancers do not stop growing because there is a war. But cancer…
India’s Lung Connect shows value of online cancer support in low-income settings
It was April 2020. Just a few weeks earlier, India had imposed a national lockdown – among the harshest in the world. Ramkrishna Bhadhury, 44, a farmer from a small…
Surviving childhood cancer in Africa: helping families stick with the treatment plan is key
Faced with poverty, low maternal education and fears about treatment effects, many families in sub-Saharan Africa are abandoning cancer treatment for children and young people, harming chances of survival. In…