Early diagnosis of cancer saves lives, cuts treatment costs
New guidance from the World Health Organisation (WHO), launched ahead of World Cancer Day (4 February), aims to improve the chances of survival for people living with cancer by ensuring that health services can focus on diagnosing and treating the disease earlier.
New WHO figures released indicate that each year 8.8 million people die from cancer, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. One problem is that many cancer cases are diagnosed too late. Even in countries with optimal health systems and services, many cancer cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when they are harder to treat successfully.
All countries can take steps to improve early diagnosis of cancer, according to WHO's new Guide to cancer early diagnosis. The three steps to early diagnosis are:
1. Improve public awareness of different cancer symptoms and encourage people to seek care when these arise.
2. Invest in strengthening and equipping health services and training health workers so they can conduct accurate and timely diagnostics.
3. Ensure people living with cancer can access safe and effective treatment, including pain relief, without incurring prohibitive personal or financial hardship.
Challenges are clearly greater in low- and middle-income countries, which have lower abilities to provide access to effective diagnostic services, including imaging, laboratory tests, and pathology – all key to helping detect cancers and plan treatment. WHO encourages these countries to prioritise basic, high-impact and low-cost cancer diagnosis and treatment services. The Organisation also recommends reducing the need for people to pay for care out of their own pockets, which prevents many from seeking help in the first place.
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