World Cancer Day 2022: ‘Close the Care Gap’

 

Finding out that you have cancer can be truly devastating, whatever the prognosis, and is likely to impact virtually every aspect of your life.

Those with a cancer diagnosis not only have to come to terms with the fact they may need surgery and ongoing treatment but must also deal with the emotional impact their illness has on them and their loved ones. As if all this isn’t enough, cancer patients also often find themselves under huge financial pressure if their illness means they’re no longer able to work.

World Cancer Day is celebrated on 4^th February every year around the world. The purpose of this day is to help prevent deaths from Cancer, and to be able to unite people and countries affected by Cancer and to raise awareness about Cancer, to strive to act to help improve knowledge and education about the illness and to help raise funds for Cancer initiatives., promote research, improve patient services, raise worldwide awareness of cancer and all the various impacts it can have, with the ultimate goal of reducing the millions of preventable cancer deaths.

The day was set up by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) – the largest and oldest international cancer organisation – and was first marked in 2000.

 2022 World Cancer Day has extra meaning in the UK, as it is also 20 years this year since Cancer Research UK was founded. Cancer Research UK has done amazing work over the 20 years and helped millions of people.

 Current statistics in the UK say that 1 in 2 people will be impacted by cancer in their lifetimes in some way.  That percentage is staggering when you consider the UK population is 60 million people.  When expanded to a global scale, it is estimated that 10 million people die per year as a consequence of cancer, with estimates increasing to 13 million by 2030.

 The theme for 2021’s World Cancer Day is “Close the Care Gap”and aims to expose significant barriers related to socioeconomic factors that prevent many people from accessing life-saving prevention services, diagnostics, treatment and care. The aim is that everyone should have access to life-saving cancer treatment and care - no matter who you are or where you live. The care or equity gap however means that 50 percent of the global population have a lack of resources and access to fundamental health services.
In terms of cancer, this includes basic care, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, meaning that your place in the world can determine your chances of survival of cancer.

According to research done, 28% of employees who have been diagnosed with cancer said they did not receive support from their employers, or the support they were offered did not meet their expectations.

 Under UK law, Cancer is classed as a disability, which means employers cannot treat employees less favourably because of a cancer diagnosis.  Any employee who is treated less favourably over someone without a cancer diagnosis could bring a claim to the Employment Tribunal for discrimination.Disparity is not the only disparity of wealth; it can be inequality of healthcare too and it’s happening globally.It’s not only happening in third world countries, it’s happening in developed countries too.

The significance of todays theme lies behind the fact that like so many other diseases, cancer care also reflects the saddening inequalities and inequities of the world.

Half the world’s 7.9 billion inhabitants lack access to a full range of essential health services, including cancer treatment and management.

The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the situation and two years on from the beginning of the crisis more than half a billion people have been pushed or pushed further into extreme poverty due to healthcare costs.

While scientific advancements are causing the survival rates for many cancers to rise exponentially, the effects are not being felt in developing nations. Many people in low and middle-income countries are unable to effectively access adequate cancer care, even when the infrastructure and expertise exist. This is what the Union for International Cancer Control refers to the “equity gap”, which is costing lives.While inequity is usually measured in terms of the unequal distribution of health or resources, there exists an array of underlying factors known as the “social determinants of health”.

These include income, education, geographical location, national resources, gender norms and cultural bias. Discrimination and assumptions based on a person’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability and lifestyle also play a part .and they lead to wide discrepancies in the risks of developing and surviving cancer.

The groups with the biggest disadvantages are also more likely to have increased exposure to additional risk factors, such as tobacco and an unhealthy diet.

Figures released by the WHO last year showed the stark differences in cancer care between nations in the Middle East and North Africa region.

 Nine out of 10 women who die of cervical cancer, live in low- and middle-income countries  where lack of HPV vaccination, lifestyle-related risk factors, delayed diagnosis due to the absence of screening programmes and unavailability of, or inadequate access to, effective treatment constitute as many obstacles to optimal patient care and outcomes.

Even in the UK, given the huge demands placed on the NHS by the pandemic, people could face lengthy delays for cancer diagnosis or treatment, which can make a worrying time even more distressing.

Although nothing can help ease the emotional or physical fallout from cancer, having some form of financial protection in place can at least help alleviate money worries, providing more choices and options to those affected. 

World Cancer Day 2022 comes as people are being urged to seek help for potential symptoms of cancer after it emerged that fewer are coming forward during the pandemic.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said that the latest NHS data for England shows fewer people are being referred for help for lung cancer and urological cancers because they are not coming forward for help.

Cancer is a disease that causes  great physical and mental suffering, and yes death, and its management always requires great dedication in terms of time, investment, means and good organisation. Throughout the disease , may  unforseen  and delicate situations arise that require great individual adaption to overcome them.

Because of the pandemic added challenges have been added. We could not imagine that the pandemic caused  by covid-19 would affect cancer patients so much, fundamental tests and treatments are being put on hold such as radiology, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. All these changes are causing a significant delay both in diagnosis and treatment. An extremely stressful and anxious time for all concerned. 

Cancer is a  disease that will kill more than  eight million people worldwide this year . The world needs to unite against this disease that knows no borders and represents one of humanity's most pressing concerns.

Moreover , understanding and responding to the full impact of cancer on emotional , mental and physical wellbeing  will maximise the quality of life for patients, their families and care-givers. Every citizen should have access to  free treatment options and care.

 Many cancer patients and their families describe feeling a loss of control of their lives after a cancer diagnosis. Patients and families should be empowered to participate actively in decisions about their care and treatment plan which respects their individual needs and preferences. This can go a long way in helping individuals to regain a sense of control and preserve their dignity throughout their cancer experience.

 Like other wars, real and imagined, the war on cancer is a gift to opportunists of all stripes. Among the vultures are travel insurers who charge people with cancer ten times the rate charged to others, the publishers of self-help books and the promoters of miracle cures, vitamin supplements and various ‘alternative therapies’ of no efficacy whatsoever.

But most of all, there’s the pharmaceutical industry, which manipulates research, prices and availability of drugs in pursuit of profit. And with considerable success. The industry is the UK’s third most profitable sector, after finance and tourism, with a steady return on sales of some 17 per cent, three times the median return for other industries. Its determination to maintain that profitability has seen drug prices rise consistently above the rate of inflation. The cost of cancer drugs, in particular, has soared.

The industry claims high prices reflect long-term investments in research and development (R&D). But drug companies spend on average more than twice as much on marketing and lobbying as on R&D. Prices do not reflect the actual costs of developing or making the drug but are pushed up to whatever the market can bear. Since that market is comprised of many desperate and suffering individuals, it can be made to bear a great deal. The research that this supposedly funds is itself warped by the industry. When it comes to clinical trials of their products, they engage in selective publication and suppression of negative findings and are reluctant in the extreme to undertake comparative studies with other products

Taking political action is also key to us preventing, treating and diagnosing cancer earlier in order for us to achieve survival of 3 in 4 by 2034. For those living with cancer, now and in the future (and that’s one in three of the UK population), the biggest threat is the coming public spending squeeze, cuts in NHS budgets and privatisation of services will mean more people dying earlier from cancer and more people suffering unnecessarily from it. Even better survival rates will become a curse, as responsibility for long-term care is thrown back on families. A real effort to reduce suffering from cancer requires a political struggle against a system that sanctifies profit – not a ‘war’ guided by those who exploit the disease. 

The target for treating cancer patients within 62 days of  urgent GP referral has not been met for over 5 years, despite the pandemic, and surveys evidence suggests that people are experiencing lengthening delays in getting GP appointments. Longer waits are a symptom of more people needing treatment than the  NHS has the capacity to deliver,. we need the Government to tackle the cancer backlog or we will lose tens of thousands of additional lives.

 The Government has said they want to launch a 10-year war on cancer. This is welcome but they also need to ensure the 60,000 missing cancer patients are treated quickly and not left to suffer the pain of delays.

We should not forget the heartless uncaring hypocrites in government who are underfunding the NHS, that are continuing to put those that suffer from cancer further at risk. We must not forget to hold our Government to accountable further down the road . We must not cower from politicising the deficiencies in the NHS that the  pandemic crisis has revealed.

Care for cancer,, like so many other diseases, reflects the inequalities and inequities of our world. The clearest distinction is between high- and low-income countries, with comprehensive treatment reportedly available in more than 90% of high-income countries but less than 15% of low-income countries.

Similarly, the survival of children diagnosed with cancer is more than 80% in high-income countries, and less than 30% in low- and middle-income countries. And breast cancer survival five years after diagnosis now exceeds 80% in most high-income countries, compared with 66% in India and just 40% in South Africa.

Furthermore, a recent WHO survey found that cancer services are covered by a country’s largest, government health financing scheme in an estimated 37% of low- and middle-income countries, compared to at least 78% of high-income countries. This means that a cancer diagnosis has the potential to push families into poverty, particularly in lower-income countries, an effect that has been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.Fortunately, much is being done to bring quality cancer care to countries for which, up until now, it has been out of reach.

On World Cancer  Day and on any other day in fact, awareness  is so important, for the survivors and those who are not so fortunate, we should not be afraid to talk about it. For many affected by the disease it is a solemn one of reflection, a time to become aware of this disease's impact and what is being done to help effect change for millions it impacts. A diagnosis of cancer does not mean that you have to live a painful and miserable life. Their is hope and positivity to. But it is so important to keep up the conversations. 

Efficient and widely accessible cancer services will save countless individuals from a premature and often painful death. Greater equity in healthcare will also strengthen families and communities, benefit the economy with greater workforce participation and offer net savings to health budgets.

 The campaign website for World Cancer Day provides extensive details on the different barriers people are experiencing in accessing care, how this affects prevention, treatment, survival and support, and offers examples of actions that governments, organisations and individuals around the world can take to close the gap in cancer care.

More than a third of all cancers can be prevented and  lives saved if detected early but the fact also remains that Inequity in cancer care costs lives.People who seek cancer care hit barriers at every turn. The Care gap affects everyone, including you and your loved ones. These barriers are not set in stone. They can be changed. Everybody should have equal access to the practical, emotional and social support they need to live life as fully as possible with the impact of cancer.

Best wishes.