[BBC] Cancer ‘tidal wave’ on horizon, warns WHO

Back in 1980/81 I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Liberia, West Africa.
Cancer was basically unheard of.  Children were dying at high rates of preventable diseases/conditions as malaria and diarrhea. Most diseases were infectious  and/or related to environmental conditions as malaria, dengue fever, and cholera.
Always thought that cancer was not prevalent because the diet was healthy. Everything I ate was what we call “organic”.

Now the tide not only is turning, it has turned.

Just one note, the term “developing country” is a misnomer. All countries are developing!

From the 3 February 2014 BBC article

The globe is facing a “tidal wave” of cancer, and restrictions on alcohol and sugar need to be considered, say World Health Organization scientists.

It predicts the number of cancer cases will reach 24 million a year by 2035, but half could be prevented.

The WHO said there was now a “real need” to focus on cancer prevention by tackling smoking, obesity and drinking.

The World Cancer Research Fund said there was an “alarming” level of naivety about diet’s role in cancer.

Fourteen million people a year are diagnosed with cancer, but that is predicted to increase to 19 million by 2025, 22 million by 2030 and 24 million by 2035.

 

The developing world will bear the brunt of the extra cases.

Dr Chris Wild, the director of the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, told the BBC: “The global cancer burden is increasing and quite markedly, due predominately to the ageing of the populations and population growth.

“If we look at the cost of treatment of cancers, it is spiralling out of control, even for the high-income countries. Prevention is absolutely critical and it’s been somewhat neglected.”

A third of people said cancer was mainly due to family history, but the charity said no more than 10% of cancers were down to inherited genes.

The WHO’s World Cancer Report 2014 said the major sources of preventable cancer included:

• Smoking
• Infections
• Alcohol
• Obesity and inactivity
• Radiation, both from the sun and medical scans
• Air pollution and other environmental factors
• Delayed parenthood, having fewer children and not breastfeeding

 

Continue reading the main story

 

[Reblog] Are you a victim of patient profiling?

Very controversial, this posting has 113 comments as of Feb 4, 2014.
Two (or more! ) sides to this.
On a personal level, my medical record very boldly on the first page states two conditions
— Anxiety/Depression (have not needed medication for these conditions in 5 years)
— High Cholesterol ( have disputed the doctor on this, based on how I have read the scientific literature)

So, yes…I feel profiled!

Yet, the doctor is doing the best he can. He can only see patients for 15 minutes. His electronic records are
basically, well, dictated by the group he is in.

On another note, just as I am not defined by my job or resume…
I am also not defined by my medical record!

From the 4 February 2014 Kevin MD article by Pamela Wible, MD

Ever felt misjudged by a doctor? Or treated unfairly by a clinic or hospital? You may be a victim of patient profiling.

Patient profiling is the practice of regarding particular patients as more likely to have certain behaviors or illnesses based on their appearance, race, gender, financial status, or other observable characteristics. Profiling disproportionately impacts patients with chronic pain, mental illness, the uninsured, and patients of color. Like racial profiling by police, patient profiling by physicians is more common than you think.

 

We rely on doctors to first do no harm–to safeguard our health–but profiling patients often leads to improper medical care, and distrust of physicians and the health care system, with potential lifelong consequences.

For the first time, people share their stories:

I was once denied pain meds after a fall off a 10-foot porch by the same doc who gave my pretty female friend pain meds after getting two stitches in her finger. I felt like my appearance had something to do with it.” ~ Jay Snider

 

Read the entire article (with 113+ comments) here

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