5:40 AM
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London, Aug 16 :Medical experts have called for action on cancer, saying that it is not a ''disease of the rich'' but a global health priority."The integration ofcancer prevention and care where both are needed is precisely what we need to do if we are to make the response to the challenge as global as cancer itself," Lancet quoted Paul Farmer, chair of the HMS department of global health and social medicine, as saying.
"There are clearly effective interventions that can prevent or ease suffering due to many malignancies, and that is surely our duty as physicians or policy makers or health advocates," he added.
Comparing cancer fatality rates between low- and high-income countries reveals stark disparities.
Fatality rates in low-income countries are 75 percent, in lower middle-income 72 percent, and in upper middle-income 64 percent.
This enormous difference in survival - particularly for many highly treatable and curable cancers such as cervical, breast, testicular and acute lymphoblastic leukemia in children - denote the scope of action.
"As a person living with cancer, diagnosed in a developing country, I believe we must address this glaring inequity. Evidence shows that this can be done," said Felicia Knaul.
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