The inimitable Antonio Banderas recently praised the effectiveness of the #ElRosaEsmasThanAColor (Pink is More Than Color) initiative, which has significantly improved the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Although, according to the famous actor, there is still a lot to do.
Media Front
It is great that public people remind everyone about October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month since 1985. The goal is to disseminate information about the disease and raise funds for its diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of patients.
It is worth reminding you that in the early 1990s, activists around the world chose pink as a symbol of the fight against breast cancer. In 1993, the World Health Organization officially declared Pink October. Since then, for example, the American cosmetics company Estee Lauder organizes illumination of one of the world-famous buildings in pink. So, on October 16, 2022, the White House in the United States turned pink. I should note that for American First Lady Jill Biden this issue has long been a personal one. In 1993, four of her friends were diagnosed with breast cancer at once.
In general, there are a huge number of events in October. Let us recall the most famous of them. The five-kilometer Run for the Cure, which is held in various cities around the world, involves from hundreds of thousands to more than a million amateur athletes. A three-day, 60-mile hike Avon Against Breast Cancer, “in pink” parties, a “pink day at work,” etc. In 1996, the U.S. first issued a “breast cancer” stamp, and Canada first issued a coin of the same name.
What is my point? All the events look spectacular, the unity of activists and celebrities is unbreakable, and people donate huge sums every year. However, let us take a look at what progress the world’s medical organizations have made in diagnosing and treating breast cancer, and more importantly, in making them available to women around the world.
Mistakes in calculations
To begin with, here is a bit of creepy statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO). Breast cancer is on the first place among all cancerous diseases in women in the world. Thus, in 140 of the 184 countries studied, breast cancer ranks first among all cancers. In 2020 alone, (the WHO does not have more recent statistics), 2.3 million women were diagnosed with breast cancer. 685,000women died because of the disease! 7.8 million people suffer from breast cancer!
Incidence rates are higher in states with developed economies. I do not think it is a paradox. It is just that the advanced countries have much better diagnostics and because it is the early detection of the disease that plays a huge role. If the disease is detected at a late stage, the chance of survival is extremely low.
Indeed, at the state level there are projects in many countries to expand the coverage of clinical breast examinations and mammography. But even in Europe they could not avoid failure during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, for example, one out of every two cancer patients experienced delays in care. By the end of last year, 20% of cancer patients were not receiving care.
What to say about mass diagnostics of women during this period? By the most conservative estimates, millions of cases of early disease have been overlooked! For example, at the beginning of the pandemic in Belgium, the detection rate of invasive tumors dropped by almost half!
Medical failures
Nevertheless, this is Europe, and what is going on in the poorer countries of Africa, Asia, and South America, where medicine was at a low level even before the coronavirus outbreak? According to a WHO global study, in the last quarter of 2021, the scale of failures in cancer care averaged 50%. Unfortunately, we will feel the consequences for years to come.
The WHO has launched a global initiative to fight breast cancer. They want to reduce the global mortality rate from this disease by 2.5% annually. As conceived by the authors of the initiative, it would prevent 2.5 million deaths from breast cancer between 2020 and 2040. The WHO believes that the stated goals can be achieved through health promotion measures, timely diagnosis and comprehensive treatment.
It is understandable, but let us take a broader look at the problem. The same WHO says that by 2040, 70% of cancer deaths will occur in low- and middle-income countries. They say that these countries do not fully comply with WHO recommendations, and that cancer treatment is not available in some parts of the world. 70% of countries in Africa do not have a single radiotherapy machine!
In my humble opinion, the system needs more than just financial help. I think that the countrieshave been pouring billions into the fight against breast cancer over all this time, and they continue to do so. An effective organization of the process is necessary, because the world’s bureaucracy is once again showing its extreme sluggishness. This explains the failure during the COVID-19 pandemic and still dreadful mortality rates from breast cancer in the world.
And finally, when studying statistics, remember that behind each dry figure is the fate of a particular person, his family and friends…
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