WHO Global Initiative Aims To Improve Breast Cancer Survival
For patients diagnosed with breast cancer, the 5-year survival rate is above 80% in most “wealthy” countries. Unfortunately, not all countries can boast such statistics. Likewise, even in higher-income countries there are still areas of underserved communities with much lower survival rates.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a new campaign to help improve survival rates in underserved areas. The campaign is called the Global Breast Cancer Initiative. The goal is to reduce breast cancer mortality by 2.5% per year until 2040. These efforts could save the lives of up to 2.5 million people!
The global effort comes at a crucial time. Breast cancer now outranks lung cancer as the world’s most common type of cancer, and is responsible for 1 in every 6 cancer deaths in women.
Breast Cancer Initiative key elements
The Global Breast Cancer Initiative will be comprised of three elements: health promotion, timely diagnosis and treatment, and supportive care.
Health promotions will drive campaigns focused on public education to identify the early signs of breast cancer. Another key focus will be educating the public on lifestyle changes that could reduce their risk of developing breast cancer.
The push for timely diagnosis and treatment will require local government officials and their healthcare providers to address local needs and develop plans of action to provide better patient care. This includes access to surgery, chemotherapy, radiation treatments and pain management services.
“An evidence-based technical package will be provided to countries, linked to online learning platforms and other types of support, and rolled out over the next year. The package will incorporate existing WHO cancer tools and products to promote an integrated approach across cancers and to strengthen health systems more broadly,” shared the WHO when discussing the strategy behind the new campaign.
This campaign will hopefully reach the lives of many women and men across the globe. The importance of education as well as access to breast cancer care and patient support are crucial in making a global impact and saving lives. We applaud this incredibly important initiative and look forward to seeing its efforts come to fruition!
