Articles
Tobacco industry still exerting power in Eastern Europe
Despite major progress in 2016, when the Romanian Parliament banned smoking in all indoor public spaces, indoor workplaces and public transportation, the country still has a tobacco problem. Around three…
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…
Project ECHO: spreading access to specialist care through democratising knowledge
Manjula (not her real name) was deeply surprised when she was diagnosed with stage 3 stomach cancer at the age of 52. She was healthy and had no other ailments.…
Cancer and the immune system: turning insights into treatments
The vision of harnessing our immune systems to fight cancer has been tantalising scientists and doctors for more than a century. The idea had a strong scientific rationale: over millions…
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…
Addressing the pathological hole at the core of many LMIC cancer plans
A patient visits their local primary care facility with symptoms that could indicate a possible cancer. What happens next could determine their chances of survival. In the event that it…
How organoids could help match treatments to tumours
When diagnosed with cancer, few things are more important than having confidence that the treatment you are prescribed is the best possible option for you. For many cancers, particularly the…
Delivering cervical cancer screening across India: the plan… and the practice
Gynaecologist Shalini Singh remembers the Pap smears she carried out until around twenty years ago, when she was working at the prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences, in New…
Getting the message across: we need to learn from the Covid experience
One of the big lessons of the Covid pandemic has been the critical importance of good communication – how challenging it is to get complex medical information across to the…
Begging for imatinib: why do so many patients still lack access to this lifesaver?
Following doctor’s orders doesn’t usually mean making a two-hour round trip to visit your hospital twice a week to beg for any spare medication on the off-chance that someone has…