A new report put out by the World Health Organization presents a bleak prospect: World cancer rates are expected to rise by more than half by 2030.
These findings were published in the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)’s World Cancer Report, a collaborative effort of over 250 scientists and health specialists from around the world, released Monday, the day before World Cancer Day. The report also pointed to the fact that, due to cancer rates projected to rise at approximately 22 million new cases in 20 years, the system currently in place to fight cancer is not working. Therefore, the time to focus on prevention and early detection is long overdue. “It is untenable to think we can treat our way out of the cancer problem. That alone would not be a sufficient response,” stated Christopher Wild, director of the IARC and an editor on the report. “More commitment to prevention and early detection is desperately needed…to complement improved treatments and address the alarming rise in the cancer burden globally.”
On a more positive note, the WHO is acknowledging the need for a worldwide cancer prevention strategy: raising awareness about cancer’s correlation with diet and exercise, limiting exposure to toxins, alcohol, sweeteners and GMO foods and last but not least, encouraging at-risk individuals to seek early detection and prevention through proven methods such as whole body MRI screening.
Below are some of the facts presented in the report:
-new cancer cases rose to an approximate 14 million worldwide in 2014, and are expected to reach 22 million by 2030
-cancer deaths rose to an approximate 8.2 million worldwide in 2014, and are expected to reach 13 million by 2030
-the most frequently diagnosed cancers in 2012 were lung, breast and colorectal cancers; the cancers most frequently cited as cause of death were lung, liver and stomach cancers
-more than 60 per cent of global cancer cases occur in Africa, Asia and Central/South America, while over 70 per cent of cancer fatalities in these continents
-at these rates, one in eight men and one in twelve women worldwide will die from cancer in their lifetime