Posts by tag
disparities
Is It Biology or Geography That Decides Who Survives Childhood Cancer?
Cancer is a word no parent ever wants to hear. But when that word comes with no access to treatment, it doesn’t just hurt—it destroys hope.A year ago, I was walking through a coastal town in Africa. It was a…
Florida shows cancer outcomes are better where healthcare reflects local cultures
Research conducted on cancer data for the southern US state of Florida shows how addressing sociocultural differences can bridge the gaps in cancer awareness and early detection, and improve outcomes. The study looked into the racial/ethnic disparities in stage of…
Why is the cancer mortality gap between Eastern and Western Europe so hard to close?
Efforts to reduce the excess risk of dying from cancer faced by people living in countries of Eastern and Central Europe, compared with their Western counterparts have been high on the European agenda for the best part of two decades.…
Tackling cancer in high-risk areas: the ‘Marmot City’ model
Inequalities in social, economic and educational status are inherent in all societies, to a greater or lesser extent. The discovery that a person’s health and life expectancy are closely tied to their position in the social hierarchy opened up new…
Reversing the rising trend in prostate cancer mortality in Poland
Between 2015 and 2020, age-standardised prostate cancer mortality rates rose by an estimated 18% in Poland, reflecting an increase in deaths from 4,876 to 5,748 over that period. This trend was in sharp contrast to EU countries as a whole,…
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 Hospital, a municipal hospital in Mumbai, where he had his…
Childhood cancer: let’s close this equity gap of haves and have nots
Trying to improve the survival chances for children with cancer is the day-to-day work of Kidzcan in Zimbabwe. Support and advocacy groups in Western countries supplement the work of their health services. By and large, we are those services. We…
Current cervical cancer screening paradigm fails older women
Nearly one in five new cervical cancers diagnosed between 2009 and 2018 were in women aged 65 years and over. The US study, published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, January 9, demonstrates that relative to younger women, those aged…
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 cancer metastasised to the lymph nodes. Naturally, her first thoughts…
US study suggests colorectal cancer screening should start at age 45
Screening women below the age of 50 for colorectal cancer (CRC) can significantly reduce their risk in comparison to those who have no endoscopic screening or who initiate testing at age 50. The study in JAMA Oncology, published online 5…