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Diagnoses and therapies New WHO guidelines in the fight against cancer
Every year, around 14 million people worldwide have cancer, and around 8.8 million people die of it. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued new guidelines on the occasion of the World Cancer Day on February 4 to help improve patient survival.
Number of cancers is increasing
According to the Center for Cancer Registry Data at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), "around 14.1 million people worldwide suffer from cancer (without white skin cancer) every year and around 8.2 million people die from it". In Germany, too, there are more and more new cases of cancer. The number of new diagnoses has almost doubled in this country since 1970. Experts warn that in particular the number of cancer deaths in women could increase dramatically. The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued new guidelines for the World Cancer Day (February 4) to improve the chances of survival.
WHO has issued new guidelines on World Cancer Day to help improve patient survival. (Image: auremar / fotolia.com) New measures in the fight against cancer
The WHO, which estimates the number of annual cancer deaths at 8.8 million, recommends three things: authorities should be better informed about the symptoms of various cancers.
Health professionals such as doctors and nurses should be better trained to ensure accurate diagnoses. And last but not least, patients all over the world should quickly get the right treatment without having to plunge into financial ruin.
Etienne Krug, WHO director of the Department of Noncommunicable Diseases in Geneva, said, "If cancer is diagnosed at a late stage and patients are not finding the right treatment, they will need to suffer unnecessarily and die often earlier than necessary. "
The new measures, especially for breast, uterine and colon cancer, should allow earlier diagnoses.
Many countries around the world lack treatment options
According to WHO, early diagnosis also makes financial sense, since the treatment is then significantly cheaper and many people could continue to work. According to the APA report, cancer costs would have cost around one trillion euros worldwide in 2010 due to treatment costs and productivity losses.
According to the WHO, the number of people suffering from cancer every year will rise to 21 million by 2030. The disease is currently the cause of every sixth death in the world.
According to the organization, two-thirds of those affected today lived in low- and middle-income countries. In less than a third of countries, patients could simply go to a doctor and receive treatment.
Reduce personal cancer risk
On the occasion of the World Cancer Day, health experts also pointed to ways to fight cancer by taking individual measures. A message from the Center for Cancer Registry Data summarizes some useful tips for reducing your personal cancer risk:
-Do not smoke and ensure a smoke-free environment
-Move regularly and keep a healthy body weight
-Eat healthy and reduce your alcohol intake
-Avoid too much sunlight
-Protect yourself against cancer-causing effects at the workplace by observing and adhering to prescribed safety regulations
-Find out about the legal offers of cancer screening
-Let your doctor advise you on vaccine protection
"Prevention of cancer and health promotion for people with cancer are big challenges that will work best when we perceive them as integral to society," the experts write.
And further: "It is everyone's responsibility to make health-conscious decisions, as well as society as a whole, to create health-promoting conditions." (Ad)