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In developing countries around the world, dedicated individuals are working to combat the growing cancer crisis. Here they speak to PACT about the cancer challenges facing their particular country or region, the efforts that need to be made to meet those challenges, and their hopes for the future.
In June 2008 cancer researcher Anuradhani Kasturiratne was one of seven PACT-sponsored participants to attend the annual Summer School of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France. Together with some 40-50 people from both developed and developing nations, all involved in the field of cancer control and prevention, Anu attended two modules of the Summer School: covering cancer registration and the epidemiology of cancer. Read more »
IT specialist Phan Van Hoa lives in Hanoi, Vietnam. In 2005, shortly after the birth of their second child, his wife, Lan Anh, was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer. Hoa did everything possible to help his wife, including taking her abroad for treatment, but Lan Anh died six months later. She was 28 years old. Read more »
Dr. Joe Harford is Director of International Affairs of the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI), the world's leading cancer research body. In Europe recently to attend an international cancer conference, Dr. Harford visited the PACT programme office to discuss NCI training courses in cancer prevention. Read more »
Professor Robert Burton has worked as a leader in cancer control planning for both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Union Against Cancer (UICC). For more than ten years, he was involved in developing and implementing cancer control plans for his native Australia. Read more »
More than 70% of all new cancer cases occur in low-income countries. Of these, the vast majority cannot be cured because they are diagnosed too late for effective treatment. All that can be done is to provide pain control and palliative care services for the terminally ill. Read more »
Dr. Alban Ylli, Director of the Institute of Public Health and Hygiene in Tirana, discusses the challenges facing Albania as it works towards improving cancer care and control. Read more »
In 1998, six years after graduating as a medical doctor, Ian Garbett took a decisive step. He joined the international voluntary charity Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) and went to work in Papua New Guinea (PNG). For Garbett it was the start of a love affair. Read more »
According to the World Health Organization, there are around 2.5 million people in India with cancer. Another 5.7 million are HIV Positive. To these figures must be added the innumerable others in the 1.13 billion population who are suffering from incurable diseases, such as chronic conditions of the heart, lungs or kidneys. Read more »
Lifestyles are changing in Sri Lanka, and so are standards of public health. Increasing urbanization is resulting in a move away from traditional, freshly-prepared foods to a more processed, western diet. Read more »
Helmut Reichenvater doesn’t see himself as a hero. But when the tall, bespectacled engineer arrives in Zimbabwe, cancer patients and health professionals greet him like one. Read more »
Dr. Twalib Ngoma, Executive Director of the Ocean Road Cancer Institute in Dar es Salaam, talks to IAEA/PACT about Tanzania’s cancer burden and the efforts being made to combat the disease. Read more »
The Tanzanian women’s action group MEWATA (Medical Women’s Association of Tanzania) was formed in 1987 by a group of female doctors dedicated to tackling women’s health issues in their home country. Read more »
Professor Brahim El Gueddari is Director of the Institut National d’Oncologie, in Rabat, Kingdom of Morocco. For a number of years the Institute, which is the country’s main cancer facility, has worked closely with the IAEA’s department of Technical Cooperation, organising workshops and regional training courses in radiotherapy, brachytherapy and medical physics. Read more »
In 1988, when Anna Nyakabau started work as a radiotherapy registrar in her native Zimbabwe, there were no cancer specialists. The country of 12 million people relied on expatriate doctors working on secondment. Read more »
Mr. Neyra’s decision to become a medical physicist came about by coincidence. In the mid-1990s, he was studying general physics at the University in Managua when one of his professors, former CNR Director Fabio Morales, urged him to specialize in medical physics. Read more »
Dr. Faith Mwangi-Powell is Executive Director of the Uganda-based African Palliative Care Association (APCA). Dr. Mwangi-Powell worked in Community Health before moving to the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund in London, UK, where she managed funds for palliative care for Africa. Read more »
In Afghanistan Dr Nadera Hayat Borhani worked during the former Taliban rule. She was one of the few doctors able to treat women. Dr Borhani travelled by special car to the houses of female patients forbidden to leave their homes. Today she is the Afghan Deputy Minister of Public Health. Read more »
Miriam Joy Calaguas works in two worlds. The Filipino radiation oncologist treats cancer patients with state-of-the art radiotherapy treatment at a private clinic in Manila. But on Wednesdays and Thursdays, she leaves the pristine corridors of St Luke’s Private Hospital, to work at the two main public hospitals in the city. Read more »
In India, Dr Sarbani Ghosh Laskar is one of 14 radiation oncologists working at the Tata Memorial hospital in Mumbai. The hospital registers about 25, 000 new cases of cancer each year, of which 75% are in advanced stages. Read more »
