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With HIV, TB, Malaria, malnutrition, typhoid, diphtheria, tetanus, and cholera to contend with, you know Africans shouldn’t be forced to worry about anything else.
Unfortunately, as Africans start to live longer thanks to improved healthcare, diseases usually associated with wealthier nations are starting to make their presence felt. The UN Global Cancer study, released in 2002, highlighted that over 50% of cancers were occurring in developing countries. By 2020, they expect that number to go up to 70%.
Yet, because the perception is that cancer is so anomalous in Africa, people are diagnosed very late. “80 percent of cancer victims already have late-stage incurable tumours when they are diagnosed, pointing to the need for much better detection programs,” says the report. There are over 11 million deaths every year as a result of cancer.
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