A very provocative article from BERLIN (Reuters) starts with” Cancer is a bigger killer in developing countries than tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS combined and a “tsunami” of the disease threatens to overwhelm the nations worst equipped to cope, experts said on Tuesday.
While only about 5 percent of global resources for cancer are spent in developing countries, the burden of the disease is far greater there, they said, with 60 percent of last year’s 7.6 million cancer deaths occurring in poorer nations.
Women-specific cancers like breast and cervical cancer, which account for more than a quarter of all female deaths worldwide, could be dramatically cut in low and middle-income nations by improving awareness and detection, they said.”
This is an amazing oupouring of disease but is it surprising? In the U.S., cancer incidence has been rising for decades and is just now slowing as the reduction in smoking is starting to reduce lung cancer. Meanwhile,cancer causing, endocrine disrupting, and immune system suppressing chemicals such as the PCBs and the persistent pesticides … toxapnene, chlordane, Mirex, Lindane, and others that we banned deades ago have found global favor and are still being used in developing countries. Is it any wonder that cancer is rapidly escalating in the developing world and remains a continuing threat in the developed world as global use continues to contaminate our food, water, and air.
Global banning of PCBs and POPs pesticides would do more for our health than any of the nealth care plans currently being discussed. Why don’t we put our resources where the problems are?
