Health in Africa: Time to wake up to cancer's toll

doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7521.904

BMJ 2005;331:904 (15 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7521.904

Letter

Health in Africa

Time to wake up to cancer's toll

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—As exemplified by your theme issue on Africa of1 October, cancer has remained comparatively neglected in Africaalthough increasingly prevalent: 70% of people with cancer livein the economically developing world, where by 2020 the annualdeath toll is predicted to reach 20 million.¹

In sub-Saharan Africa measures to prevent cancer emphasisedin the developed world—such as smoking cessation and screening—arenot nationally adopted. One third of African cancers are preventable,but the influence of tobacco companies with mass media advertisingand high crop payments is real. Traditional cancers, such asgastric and hepatocellular carcinoma, and newer cancers, suchas lung cancer, breast cancer, and AIDS related Kaposi's sarcoma,are increasing in incidence.^2
3

Patients' expectations for oncological treatment are low inAfrica. Lack of money, or a concern not to place their familyin debt, prevents many from seeking medical help.⁴ Lack of awarenessof predisposing factors, . . . [Full text of this article]

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Scott A Murray, reader

scott.murray@ed.ac.uk

Elizabeth Grant, research fellow

Primary Palliative Care Research Group, Division of Community Health Sciences; General Practice, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9DX

Faith Mwangi-Powell, executive director

African Palliative Care Association (APCA), PO Box 72518, Kampala, Uganda

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