The Global Fight Against Cancer

Mexico City NGO Training and Press Conference Kicks Off Latin American Cancer Control Partnership

American Cancer Society President-Elect Elmer Huerta, MD

This week in Mexico City, the National Cancer Institute in Mexico (INCan) and the American Cancer Society launched a historic three-year partnership to build awareness and capacity to fight cancer in Mexico and Latin America. The weeklong training began with a lively press conference with speakers including two Mexican cancer survivors, American Cancer Society President-Elect Elmer Huerta, MD, and Alejandro Mohar, MD, the general director of INCan. Almost 30 journalists attended the press conference, which received widespread news coverage by leading Mexican broadcast, radio, and print media outlets. With support from the Pfizer Foundation, the Society is building a critical network between leading Latin American cancer nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to strengthen these organizations’ work with cancer survivors and to empower them to fight back and raise cancer awareness. The Mexican NGOs in the 14-member network are Fundacion CIMA, Con Ganas de Vivir, and Grupo Reto. Other countries in this initiative include Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Venezuela.

New York Times Article Citing Urgent Need for Pain and Palliative Care in India Features ACSU Grantee

M.R. Rajagopal, MD, a graduate of the American Cancer Society University (ACSU) and a leader in cancer pain management in India, is prominently featured in a recent article in The New York Times on cancer pain and palliative care in India. The article quotes Dr. Rajagopal extensively about India’s cancer pain and palliative care crisis – only about 0.4 percent of patients get relief from pain – and the need to escalate attention to this issue. The article mentions Dr. Rajagopal’s successes to reduce cancer pain in Kerala State and the need for better access, education, and laws regarding pain medication to ease needless suffering. India has high rates of lung, cervical, and breast cancers and leads the world in head and mouth tumors, largely due to high rates of smokeless tobacco usage. Through the ACSU program and funding, the Society has supported Dr. Rajagopal and Pallium India, an NGO he started in Kerala, to advance palliative care programs throughout the nation. In collaboration with the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR) and Pallium India, the Society launched a palliative care training center in Hyderabad, India.

Global Smokefree Partnership 2007 Award Winners

At a conference in Brazil, Ing. Roberto Miguel Lifschitz accepts a GSP Award for Administrators and Governmental Bodies on behalf of the City of Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina

The Global Smokefree Partnership (GSP) recently announced its 2007 awards for leadership and excellence in promoting effective smoke-free policies. The Society serves as co-chair of the GSP, a multi-partner initiative formed to promote effective smoke-free air policies worldwide. GSP presented these awards at two international conferences held earlier this month in Brazil and Scotland. The GSP Awards Committee, which included experts and scientists from various countries and backgrounds, selected award winners from a global pool of nominees. The award winners include: 
- The Scottish Executive
- The City of Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina
- Italy as a system – awards were given to:
o The Ministry of Health
o The Health Committee of the Regions
o Research institutes, including Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes (CSPO); CPO Science Cambridge Physics Outlet, Inc.); Institute for Operations Research (IOR), and the Instituto Nazionale Tumori (INT)
o The Italian League Against Cancer
- Roswell Park Cancer Institute
- World Health Organization
- Key facilitators of the Article 8 Working Group (Finland, Ireland, and New Zealand)
For more information on the GSP award winners, please visit the Global Smokefree Partnership Web site at www.globalsmokefreepartnership.org.

Society Staff Facilitate Workshop and Meet with Government Officials on Tobacco Control in Mexico

American Cancer Society staff recently visited Mexico to take part in tobacco control workshops and meetings. On August 27-28, Manager of International Tobacco Control Catherine Jo facilitated “Tobacco Control in Mexico: From Research to Advocacy” in Cuernavaca, Mexico. The advocacy workshop, sponsored by the American Cancer Society and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, aimed to demonstrate to civil society members and government officials how to use research results and scientific data in their tobacco control work.  The workshop materials included a new publication, The Economics of Tobacco in Mexico, funded by the American Cancer Society and written by the National Institute of Public Health in Mexico.  Society staff also joined a meeting on August 28 with senior officials from the Mexican Ministry of Health, civil society members, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and colleagues from other health organizations to discuss new tobacco control legislation in Mexico.