Lung cancer kills 1.8 million people a year, more than any other cancer worldwide. Without coordinated global action, lung cancer deaths are estimated to increase by around 30% in ten years.
Lung cancer is survivable if detected and treated early. The Lung Cancer Collaboration (LCC), a multi-stakeholder collaboration of around 30 organisations, has developed a White Paper which articulates the need for urgent, coordinated global action to reduce mortality from lung cancer. This report supplements the WHO guidance by providing simple and clear recommendations for governments working towards accessible treatments for lung cancer.
Pat Price, co-founder of the GCR, contributed to the White Paper, which was presented at the World Economic Forum, Wednesday, May 25. GCR attended the event virtually. “We feel privileged to represent the Global Coalition for Radiotherapy and work with our global multidisciplinary partners to develop this important document over the last few months,” Pat Price says. “Important global oncology challenges like these need a wide range of solutions. The radiotherapy community can assist with proposing and implementing novel solutions for increasing access to quality radiotherapy. We are proud that the Global Coalition for Radiotherapy can represent all the radiotherapy community to advocate, develop solutions, and save more lives.”
The report includes recommendations from the three workstreams that were established within the LCC, focusing on early detection and screening, improving quality of treatment and care, and finance and infrastructure. Read the full white paper here.
70% of the world’s radiotherapy hubs are currently available in high-income countries, while 30 countries across the globe are without access to radiotherapy. GCR is grateful to LCC for this opportunity to participate in developing this paper, and remains committed to collaborating with other organisations to increase access to cancer treatment for all.