The Global Fight Against Cancer

“It is heartening that we are talking of endgame for tobacco"

By Dr. Pankaj Chaturvedi, professor, head & neck surgeon, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India

I was excited to attend the International Conference on Public Health in the 21st Century: The Endgame for Tobacco in New Delhi, India, because India is the second largest consumer of tobacco products in the world and the third largest producer of tobacco. That makes the speeches at the conference by Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India, and Ghulam Nabi Azad, the minister of Health and Family Welfare, about the country’s commitment to a tobacco-free society extremely significant.

I participated in the American Cancer Society's session on how cancer societies can contribute to global tobacco control. In my presentation, I shared my experience about the Voice of Tobacco Victims anti-tobacco campaign, which I launched to help mobilize tobacco victims and their doctors to confront India’s leaders and demand they enact and implement strong tobacco laws.

I am a head and neck cancer surgeon in a premier cancer centre in India, and two-third of the cancers I treat are related to tobacco. Half of these patients die within 12 months of diagnosis, and those who survive, live with permanent disabilities and often face being ostracized. The smokeless tobacco industry has unleashed an epidemic of such cancers in India, especially among the youth.

I decided to make tobacco victims the face of the anti-tobacco campaign. They turned out to be a powerful tool to politicize tobacco control and sensitize the media. The cancer survivors, the widows, or the orphaned youth got a “worthy” reason for the tragedy that they faced, and some of them took it as the purpose of their existence.

Later, I motivated my cancer specialist colleagues all over India to contribute to tobacco control. These doctors enjoy a unique societal recognition and position that allows them to effectively reach out to the top-most policy makers. As a result of their efforts, the cancer specialists received unprecedented social recognition and accolades, which made them “addicted” to tobacco control.

Death due to tobacco in India is equivalent to 10 packed jumbo jets crashing every day or 10 tsunamis hitting our shores every year. It is heartening that we are now talking of an endgame for a tobacco that is synonymous with disease, disability, and death.

Relay For Life and Tobacco Control

By Ana Garces, executive director, One Voice Against Cancer, Guatemala

Today I presented at the plenary session hosted by the American Cancer Society at the International Conference on Public Health in the 21st Century: The Endgame for Tobacco being held in New Delhi, India.

Drawing on my organization's experience as an American Cancer Society global Relay For Life® partner since 2004, my presentation was titled Fundraising, Membership and Grassroots Mobilization through Relay For Life. I presented examples from One Voice Against Cancer’s educational campaigns for cervical, skin, and prostate cancer to outline how we help with cancer prevention in Guatemala through education, advocacy, and research.

I also talked about the very positive impact the Relay For Life movement has had on Guatemala in terms of changing local paradigms related to cancer occurrence. This includes creating awareness among the general public about the fact that about half of cancers are preventable or treatable if detected early.

Equally important is the participation and celebration of local survivors at Relay events. In a country where cancer is often considered a punishment and accompanied by a very bleak diagnosis, meeting cancer survivors and their families at our Relay events is a unique opportunity that has given hope to many Guatemalans.

Finally, I emphasized the importance of adapting the Relay For Life guidelines to the local in Guatemala context for hosting a successful of event.

I hope attendees at the session will be able to learn from our experiences in Guatemala. Personally, I know that I will return home with many new ideas. Through the session, I have learned about the power that personal stories of people affected by tobacco have to advocate for a tobacco prevention strategy, as well as the important role NGOs can have in saving lives by linking research results to community interventions.

Collaboration is Essential for Global Tobacco Control

By Lekan O.A. Ayo-Yusuf, BDS, MPH, PhD, associate professor at the University of Pretoria in South Africa

Researchers around the globe gathered at the Endgame pre-conference Data to Action hosted by the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), the World Health Organization (WHO), National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to share experiences and to discuss ways to use evidence to directly influence policy action.

As a lead presenter and facilitator, I presented on the global tobacco epidemic and shared the benefits of international collaboration using, as one important example, my ongoing partnership with the American Cancer Society under the leadership of Jacqui Drope, the Society’s Global Tobacco Control managing director.

One key point I conveyed was that this type of international research collaboration has enabled me to live and work in my own country and to use both my research and that of the students I mentor to directly impact the lives of South Africans by preventing the looming tobacco epidemic.

Global Conference to Address the Tobacco “Endgame”

By Thomas J. Glynn, PhD, Director, Cancer Science and Trends and Director, International Cancer Control, American Cancer Society

In a recent editorial in the journal Tobacco Control, Kenneth Warner, PhD, Professor, School of Public Health, University of Michigan noted that everyone shares the same vision of the final words to the global tobacco epidemic story: The end. In the same issue, journal editor Ruth Malone urged the global public health community to consider an “endgame” scenario for tobacco use by “imagining things otherwise.”

These three themes – “the end,” “imagining things otherwise,” and an “endgame” scenario for tobacco use – are the subject of the International Conference on Public Health in the 21st Century: The Endgame for Tobacco. The conference, which is being held September 10-12 in New Delhi, India, is being hosted by the Public Health Foundation of India and counts among its primary sponsors the American Cancer Society, as well as the World Health Organization, the World Heart Federation, the World Bank, and many other domestic and international organizations, both public and private.

As the world heads toward the unthinkable toll of one billion deaths due to tobacco use in this century, researchers, scientists, physicians, nurses, economists, policy makers, and many others are gathering in New Delhi to discuss, in concrete terms, how to reverse the course of the tobacco epidemic and avoid the specter of one billion deaths. Conference attendees, including invited Society staff and grantees, will be doing this by reviewing available data and policies, defining the “endgame” for tobacco use (e.g., reducing global smoking prevalence from the current 25  to 5 percent and ultimately to no tobacco use whatsoever). And, in Malone’s words, they will be “imagining things otherwise” – by developing new and creative approaches to working with the public and private sectors, considering harm reduction as an option, etc.

Conference president Dr. K. Srinath Reddy, who is president of the Public Health Foundation of India, has noted the urgency of the need for an “endgame” plan, especially as the tobacco epidemic gains foothold in the low- and middle-income countries that had previously been less prone to tobacco use, compared to the industrialized western countries, where tobacco use is now on a slow decline. Due to the American Cancer Society’s longtime support for global tobacco control issues, Reddy and the conference organizers have closely involved the Society in the planning and, now the execution, of the conference.

John R. Seffrin, PhD, the Society’s chief executive officer, serves on the conference’s International Advisory Committee, I serve on the International Scientific Committee, and Jacqui Drope, the Society’s Global Tobacco Control managing director, has organized a symposium addressing how cancer societies can contribute to endgame plans.

"Attending this summit will allow me to deliver fresh ideas into the Australian Relay landscape"

Guest Blogger James Garlick, Relay For Life volunteer from Australia, writes about the 2013 National Relay For Life Campus Leadership Summit in Georgia

The 2013 American Cancer Society National Relay For Life Campus Leadership Summit has been a tremendously informative experience. Our American friends do Relay so well and I'm looking forward to bringing home to Australia, many ideas that we can implement to improve the number of students and young people who Relay.

 

(Left to Right) Andrew Petersen of the Cancer Council Australia, American Cancer Society CEO John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., cancer survivor and Cancer Council Australia Relay For Life volunteer James Garlick and Volunteer Board Chair for the American Cancer Society Gary M. Reedy at the 2013 National Relay For Life Campus Leadership Summit in Peachtree City, Georgia.

Attending this Summit will allow me to deliver fresh ideas into the Australian Relay landscape. These new ideas such as college/ university campus Relays and the Student Leadership Initiative will transform and invigorate the way students and young people engage with Relay. This will grow Relay's participant base and in turn recruit more people and fundraising into the world wide Relay movement.

During the Summit, I met and listened to many talented and passionate Relay For Life participants, including Adam Schwartz, who is a Global Relay For Life volunteer and a Lakeshore Division Board of Directors member, as well as American Cancer Society CEO John R. Seffrin, PhD. Their passion and ideas are driving the development of Relay in America.

Having seen the dynamic and exciting American Cancer Society at work inspires me to return home to my own country and our equally amazing organisation, Cancer Council Australia, to continue to fight cancer in partnership with all the organisations in the 20 countries around the world that Relay together.

 

Global Relay for Life helps the fight against cancer in Zambia

By Iris Pendergast, Director, American Cancer Society Global Relay For Life

As part of on-going support by the American Cancer Society to lower the cancer burden around the world, I recently had the opportunity to visit the Pediatric Cancer Unit at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka with American Cancer Society Global Relay For Life Volunteer Laura McCormick. We were in Zambia for a Relay For Life training. McCormick, a twenty-year Society volunteer, shared with me that, “going to the clinic was something that I’ve never seen before. Instead of hearing parents complain about the uncomfortable chair they had to sleep in overnight while spending the night with their child, parents here were grateful to just have a linoleum floor with a blanket, instead of dirt, to sleep on while in the hospital.”  

The dire conditions at the hospital continue to be a priority for the Zambian Cancer Society and through the use of Relay For Life dollars, they slowly continue to improve. Through the Society's network of Global Relay For Life volunteers, we were able to bring clothes, toys and blankets to the children of the hospital, which were received with tears of joy and appreciation. These much needed resources continue to demonstrate how even the most basic of necessities, such as a warm blanket, continue to not be taken for granted in Zambia.

 



The partnership between the American Cancer Society and Zambian Cancer Society continues to run deep. Through our Global Health outreach programs, we continue to support the Zambian Cancer Society in growing their local fundraising programs and providing much needed mission support to reach its goals. Its latest goal, to open a location on the University Teaching Hospital campus for parents to stay, will be supported through the continued growth of the Global Relay For Life program and the volunteers in Zambia and around the world, as will a Cancer Resource Desk at the hospital that will have a huge impact, helping families navigate a complicated system and also provide information on the disease. 

While the trip was only a few days in length, the experience was a reminder of the impact the American Cancer Society has in the fight against cancer. Each day my pride in being connected with the Society continues to grow, as we see how the work of our staff and volunteers are saving lives around the world through Relay For Life and its ability to change communities and give a voice to those who are in need.

We Must Join Together to Ban Tobacco Advertising and Promotion

By Joaquin Barnoya, MD, MPH, Research Assistant Professor, Division of Public Health Sciences, Department of Surgery, Washington University in St. Louis

This year, World No Tobacco Day has a theme of ‘Ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship.' Implementation of these bans is critical to protect young people from starting smoking and to reduce tobacco consumption globally. According to research, about one-third of youth will experiment with tobacco because of exposure to tobacco advertising, promotion, and sponsorship. Globally, about 78 percent of young people aged 13 to 15 have reported regular exposure to some form of tobacco advertising.

Currently, tobacco kills nearly six million people every year and WHO estimates that this figure will be larger than eight million by 2030. These numbers are staggering, yet have the potential to go up without interventions. As the multi-billion dollar tobacco industry develops clever non-traditional ways to advertise - e.g. online, point of sale, direct to consumer, this ban is more important than ever. Big Tobacco is especially focused on targeting women and children in developing countries to tap into new markets. The industry hands out free cigarettes at venues frequented by women and children, and cleverly places products and brands at the point of sale and in films and television programs. The focus on the advertising ban, part of the WHO's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control treaty (FCTC), comes at a time when more than one third of countries have minimal or no restrictions at all, according to the WHO.

As a researcher in Guatemala, I have worked with my colleagues to generate multiple studies on secondhand smoke exposure, point of sale advertising and single cigarette sales that have raised awareness and knowledge about this serious public health problem in Guatemala and throughout Latin America. The data are clear - those living in low-and middle-income countries are being manipulated by the tobacco industry and a comprehensive ban on advertising, promotion and sponsorship can help stop this deadly trend. Tobacco industry executives actively try to block tobacco control progress, so we must do more to ensure that everyone is no longer exposed to ads which clearly encourage usage.  In Guatemala, for example, we can employ strategies to reduce or eliminate advertising which is still highly prevalent at point of sale and in magazines that target adolescents and young adults.

I join all global health leaders, advocates, researchers and civil society who are advocating for greater implementation of this important provision of the FCTC. In addition, we must fight to ensure that tobacco industry-sponsored self-serving CSR (corporate social responsibility) efforts are also addressed. There is no legitimate form of CSR by tobacco companies whose business depends on addicting people to a product that kills one half of its users.

I look forward to joining forces with others in this fight against the number one cause of cancer worldwide and encourage everyone to expose the tobacco industry on every front.

Civil society in the Caribbean is fighting for the lives of women

By Maisha Hutton, Healthy Caribbean Coalition

It is May 27th, 2013 and I am sitting in the Global Forum on Cervical Cancer Prevention listening to Power over Cervical Cancer Ambassador, Ms Genevieve Sambhi, tell her profoundly moving story of her experience as a cervical cancer survivor. I am so deeply moved, not only because, similarly, I am a woman in my late thirties with two young children, but because Genevieve has so succinctly communicated one of the key messages around cervical cancer – any woman can get this disease. This is one of the critical messages of a regional Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC) campaign aimed at empowering Caribbean women by providing them with cervical cancer information in order to create grass-roots advocates who will ultimately drive changes in cervical cancer policy and programming in the Caribbean.

As the manager of the HCC, a regional alliance of civil society organisations fighting NCDs in the Caribbean, I am acutely aware that there is no other place I should be at this moment than here at this Global Forum on Cervical cancer Prevention. Against the background of our regional civil society cervical cancer advocacy and awareness initiative, this is a rare opportunity to participate in a forum which has brought together leading global cervical cancer prevention leaders, advocates, academics and policy makers. The HCC has been invited by the American Cancer Society to be a part of this conversation by sharing our experiences with engaging civil society in the fight against cervical cancer.

Healthy Caribbean Coalition program manager Maisha Hutton at the Global Forum on Cervical Cancer Prevention breakout session on Latin America

Where did this journey start for the HCC? Flashback to 2012 when the American Cancer Society provided small grant funding for a civil society initiative aimed at strengthening advocacy capacity around the second leading cause of cancer cases and deaths among Caribbean women – cervical cancer. In January 2013, the HCC used these funds to develop a cervical cancer advocacy plan for Caribbean civil society. In March 2013, Caribbean history was made when 20 Cancer NGOs representing 16 Caribbean countries came together for a Cervical Cancer Advocacy Capacity Building workshop. In a compelling example of the collective power of civil society, Caribbean cancer societies and foundations emerged from the 2-day workshop having produced Organizational Advocacy Action Plans, a finalised Advocacy Handbook & Planning Tool for Civil Society, a finalised Social Media How-to-Guide for Civil Society, a DRAFT cervical cancer e-Petition, and consensus on the establishment of a Caribbean Cancer Network. We are very proud of this significant achievement. This project has demonstrated the unique potential of civil society to initiate and affect enormous societal change.

As the HCC prepares to launch a regional e-Petition – another first in our region – demanding improved access to affordable cervical cancer screening for Caribbean women, I am brought back to the present here in Kuala Lumpur at the Women Deliver Conference attended by over 5000 delegates. Women and men have united from across the globe to make a bold statement on the power of collective agency and advocacy and the unique responsibility we have as leaders in our respective communities to provide the tools to individuals and organisations to drive social change and improve the lives of women and girls.

This is truly an amazing experience; meeting so many individuals working in cervical cancer prevention. I have made new allies in this battle and identified potential partners. I am inspired by the spirited discussion in the Latin America Regional breakout session in which, collectively, the Caribbean was recognised as a trailblazer regionally and globally, underscoring the tremendous responsibility we as the HCC have to continue this legacy. I am in awe of the work that is being done across Africa and Asia in ensuring women in the remotest of communities have access to effective screening and treatment. I am also struck by the tools being used to ensure that women receive accurate information from mhealth technologies being used for treatment follow-up by Dr. Sharon Kapambwe’s African Centre of Excellence for Women’s Cancer Control; to innovative use of social media to reach young African women led by Ms Vanessa Mdee of MTV Tanzania.

Civil society in the Caribbean is fighting for the lives of women, thanks to the unwavering support of the American Cancer Society and cancer societies across the Caribbean. Together, we are moving the region one step closer to a time where our daughters are protected from HPV infection and we are no longer losing our mothers, sisters, and wives to cervical cancer.

Media Has a Critical Role in the Fight Against Cervical Cancer

By Anso Thom, Print Editor at Health-e News Service in South Africa

Unlike many other diseases than often seem far removed and tough to grasp, there is hardly a human being on this planet who has not been affected by cancer in one way or another. Despair has largely made way for hope as many cancers are now cured. However, within cancer, a silent killer is continuing to decimate mothers and girls with cervical cancer – a cancer that is well controlled in richer countries, but deadly in the developing world.

As a health journalist I am incredibly proud and excited to be part of the Women Deliver conference and Cervical Cancer forum in Kuala Lumpur, a moment that could finally start to change the trajectory and ensure that mothers and children live long, healthy lives. However, I am impatient and want to see action. No lofty statements or intentions, we need deeds, solutions, and action.

Today, women in my country and on my continent continue to die of cervical cancer, a cancer that can be prevented and if diagnosed early, cured. However, for most women in Africa it remains a death sentence and I am hoping this meeting will help us understand the how and why we are failing women and girls and come up with urgent solutions.

As a health journalist I have witnessed the despair when HIV became a real threat and how activists, scientists and health workers teamed up to find affordable solutions that could benefit both the rich and the poor.  Unlike many other diseases, it happened quickly. There is a lot that the cervical cancer movement can learn from the HIV movement. In my mind, one of the key lessons we can learn is how the HIV movement took a highly stigmatized disease and created a platform for a multitude of human voices, forcing the world to sit up, take notice and act. We need to find those women and girl voices and the media has a critical role in this.

I am heartened that the conference conveners saw it fit to bring a number of journalists to this week's meetings and I hope that in return the media rises to the challenge and does their part in producing stories that bring about change.

Up to now the media has failed to tell the stories of cervical cancer – perhaps because it is largely hidden and stigmatized. However, we saw with HIV that we could overcome that hurdle and we need to do it again.

My hope is that this week will be remembered as turning point in the movement to address the cervical cancer challenge in a meaningful manner.

World Health Assembly Provides a Significant Opportunity in the Fight Against Chronic Diseases

By Ann McMikel, Interim Vice President, Global Health, American Cancer Society

The 66th Session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) will take place May 20-28 in Geneva, Switzerland. The assembly will hopefully serve as the culmination of targeted advocacy efforts and campaigns to put in place a strong Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) and the beginning of efforts to implement the plan around the world. The global action plan and the comprehensive global monitoring framework for the prevention and control of NCDs provide a significant opportunity to help fight NCDs at global and national levels.

The American Cancer Society helped lead a global grassroots effort to support the UN High-level Meeting on NCDs in September 2011 and the adoption of the NCD Political Declaration elevating cancer and other NCDs on the global health and development agenda. Through its global grassroots advocacy network, the Society worked to ensure that the language of the UN Political Declaration supports evidence-based cancer prevention and control priorities. As part of its Global Health Strategy, the American Cancer Society also launched the ‘Meet the Targets’ program in nine countries with an aim to support national advocacy efforts in key priority countries to ensure national implementation of the commitments made in the political declaration of the UN High level Meeting on NCDs.

 

American Cancer Society 'Meet the Targets' program meeting at the 2012 World Cancer Congress in Montreal

The American Cancer Society is joining forces with its partners at the UICC, the NCD Alliance, the Preventive Health Partnership, and its network of global advocates around the world to urge government leaders attending the WHA to adopt a robust global action plan to fulfill commitments made in the UN Political Declaration on NCDs. Click here to read the NCD Alliance briefing on the NCD resolution for adoption at WHA.