World Cancer Day

CAIRO – 4 February 2018: Cancer is the cause of one in six deaths around the world. Yet it is no longer a death sentence with likely prevention, timely diagnosis and quick treatment.

We all know that catching cancer in its early stages is crucial, yet many people around the world today are not aware of this and seek diagnoses too late rendering the chances of full recovery lower. Governments around the globe are helping in the fight against cancer by placing higher taxes on tobacco and alcohol while campaigning for the public to take on healthy diets and lifestyles. An estimate of 30-50 percent of cancers can be prevented if these are followed, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“All countries can do more to prevent and treat cancer, we know the main causes. Acting upon them will avoid that many cases occuring in the first place. By strengthening the health system response, we can also ensure earlier diagnosis and better access to affordable treatment by qualified personnel, thereby saving millions of lives,” stated Dr. Etienne Krug, WHO Director for the Department for Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention.

Early detection is important to beating cancer but also financially it is cheaper and one can continue living their daily lives by seeking treatment in the early stages. With 8.8 million people dying because of cancer worldwide every year, 4 million die prematurely (30-69 years of age).


World Cancer Day

Cancer is a multifaceted disease, and while medical care forms a big chunk of treatment, nutrition is also key to defeating the disease, dealing with the side effects of the treatment, as well as safeguarding against it.

Nutritionist Dr. Shady Labib

clarifies that while researchers admit that nutrition can’t actually cure the disease, a healthy diet is key to maintaining patients’ strength and weight. With good nutrients, cancer patients manage to defeat the pain and nausea.

While breast cancer is often incorrectly thought to only affect females and the majority of information, awareness campaigns and research on this disease tends to focus on females, breast cancer can also affect males. The month of October is dedicated to breast cancer awareness, and yet, most activities are focused on women. This has led to one of the most common breast cancer myths: that it only affects women.

Accordingly, most males fail to recognize and look for signs and symptoms of breast cancer, and those who do, struggle with feeling ashamed of being associated with a disease perceived as feminine.

Male breast cancer (MBC)

is most common in older males, although it can occur at any age. It is also more common among males with family history of breast cancer, as one in every five males diagnosed with MBC has a first degree male relative who also has a history of breast cancer.