No fewer than 800,000 Africans lack access to radiotherapy and other related cancer services, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said.
The Director-General of the IAEA, Yukiya Amano, stated this on Friday while speaking at an event in Vienna, Austria, to commemorate the 2017 World Cancer Day.
He explained that the UN agency was working to make radiotherapy and nuclear medicine more widely available.
He said early cancer diagnosis saves lives and cuts treatment costs, particularly in developing countries where the majority of cancer cases are diagnosed too late.
According to him, there is an estimated shortage of 5,000 radiotherapy machines throughout the world, saying early cancer diagnosis, better trained medics can save lives and money.
“Among African countries, for example, 80 per cent of the estimated population of one billion is without access to radiotherapy and related cancer services.
“To meet the cancer needs of developing countries, we need around 10,000 additional radiation oncologists, 6,000 medical physicists, 3,000 dosimetrists and 20,000 radiation therapists,” Amano said.


http://www.carlybrigs.ga/2017/02/cancer-800000-africans-lack-access-to.html