With modern technologies cancer is treatable
Breast cancer is the most common type of cancer among women worldwide, with nearly 1.7 million new cases diagnosed per year. This is the fifth most common cause of death from cancer among women with majority of death falls for developing countries with limited access to modern diagnostics and treatment. According to IAEA special report these countries are expected to shoulder around 70% of all cancer deaths in the next 15 years.
Today, the global burden of cancer is increasing at an alarming rate and presents a major public health and development challenge. By 2030, it is expected that the figures will increase to over 21 million new cases a year and 13 million deaths.
Sadly, in Zambia the annual mortality rate per 100,000 people from breast cancer has increased by 1.3% since 1990, with an average of 0.1% a year. Early monitoring programmes are of high importance. Global practice shows critical role of general nuclear medicine in the care of women with breast cancer including early detection and treatment.
Zambia has the potential to increase the use of radiotherapy technology to fight against cancer, according to a leading nuclear conglomerate.
Radiotherapy is a highly effective method of cancer treatment. It is generally utilised to control the development of cancer cells or eliminate them. Radiation therapy may be curative in many types of cancer especially if they are localised in one area of the body.
Radiation therapy contributes to 40% of all cancer cures worldwide as well as relieving symptoms, such as pain, and improving the quality of life for many others. One of the main advantages of modern radiation therapy is that it is a highly targeted treatment aimed precisely at the cancer wherever it might be in the body. This allows the cancer cells to be destroyed or reduced in number while protecting most other organs and tissues in the body.
Dr Lewis Banda, the Cancer Disease Hospital’s Senior Medical Superintendent, notes that without nuclear technologies it would have been very difficult to address serious diseases and take care for so many patients. Nuclear medicine plays an important role in establishing diagnosis of diseases, sterilize medical equipment. Apart from medical use employment of nuclear technologies can make food safe and available for many people.
Zambia plans to construct Center of Nuclear science and technologies in order to develop own expertize in nuclear research and science.
As mentioned Viktor Polikarpov, Rosatom Vice-President for Sub-Saharan Africa, Nuclear research center will make it possible for Zambia to become one of the industry leaders in Central and Eastern Africa. Research reactors have potential to adjust nuclear technologies for social development. For instance production of medical isotopes to treat cancer and other diseases could not be possible without research reactors.
The broad range of applications of nuclear technologies in medicine is impressive. For instance, nuclear technologies in medicine can be used to examine diverse conditions such as; blood flow to brain, functioning of liver, lungs, heart or kidneys, to determine primary oncological disease and assess presence of metastases, and etc. Diagnostic procedures using radioisotopes have become common practice around the world.