While it seems that every week brings new information on advances in cancer treatment, the fact remains that for women, cancer is still a very real threat. Two recent reports, one from the American Cancer Society and Merck and another published in the journal The Lancet suggest that by the year 2030, more than 5.5 million women, globally, will die from cancer. Most of these women will be suffering from cervical and breast cancer, but other forms are included in the numbers. Breast cancer diagnoses will likely almost double. These increased deaths from cancer in women represent a 60% rise in slightly more than two decades.
It's expected that the majority of these deaths will occur in lower income countries. Research shows that poor outcomes in cancer patients are higher in locations where early detection and advanced treatments are not readily available. Since the top four deadliest cancers-breast, cervical, lung and colorectal-are all preventable with education, healthy lifestyle choices and screenings, it follows that more deaths will be seen in poor countries where these efforts are not routine.
