Cancer is threatening to overwhelm Latin American countries, experts writing in Lancet Oncology warn.
There are far fewer cases of cancer in the region than in the US or Europe – but the
proportion who die is far higher, they say.
Late diagnosis and poor access to treatment are the main reasons for the disparity, they add.
They said as life expectancy increased, cancer would become more common, and many countries would not cope.
The experts looked at cancer incidence and care in the Latin American and Caribbean region, including the following countries: Argentina, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, French Guiana, Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Paraguay and El Salvador.
I – Word Understanding
Threatening – showing an intention to cause bodily harm
Overwhelm – defeat completely
Oncology – branch of medicine that deals with tumors
Proportion – rate or percentage
Diagnosis – identification of the nature of an illness or other problem by examination of the symptoms
Disparity – a great difference
Cope – would not deal effectively with something difficult
Incidence – frequency of a disease
II – Have your say
1.The highest cancer rate all over the world is Denmark. And the lowest is Palestine in Middle East.
2.Danish women are smokers, while the country also has high levels of alcohol consumption, both of which have been shown to increase the risk of developing cancer.
3.Not using tobacco is the best way to prevent certain cancers such as lung, throat, mouth, pancreas, bladder, stomach, liver, and kidney.
