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November 22, 2022
London Global Cancer Week 2022
Organisations worldwide come together to raise awareness and create a catalyst for change.
Cancer is the second most common cause of death globally and was responsible for 10 million deaths worldwide last year, of which 70% occurred in the low- and middle-income countries. While the devastation left by the Coronavirus pandemic continues to overwhelm their fragile, underfunded and overstretched health systems, many of these countries have also suffered the catastrophic double blows of conflict and of extreme weather events due to accelerating climate change.
Following the traditional Matins service at the Kings Chapel of Savoy, at Savoy Hill London, London Global Cancer Week 2022 ran from the Sunday 13th November through to Friday 19th November. It featured 31 co-ordinated virtual and in-person discussions over the course of six days. With the objective of providing a catalyst for change, London Global Cancer Week 2022 presented a 360° picture of the rising incidence of cancer worldwide and the tragic impact of the coronavirus pandemic, conflict, climate change and global government failure on the care of cancer patients. The majority of these meetings were freely accessible online to the global audience. To accommodate diversity and to facilitate participation with colleagues around the world, the London Global Cancer Week programme of events included early morning sessions and late afternoon / evening sessions hosted by partners located in different global time zones.
Key events this year included:
● The Horizon in Cancer Control: Data, Research & Innovation discussion hosted jointly by 3 UN Agencies (the World Health Organisation, International Agency for Research on Cancer and International Atomic Energy Agency) that will report on UN activities at the country level. (Monday 14 November)
● The Road to 2025 Achieving the Elimination of Cervical Cancer in the Commonwealth event hosted by The Commonwealth Secretariat at Marlborough House. London (Thursday 17 November)
● 4 sessions focused on the harms caused by the unprovoked Russian invasion of Ukraine and the fatal impact it has had through mass population displacement, incessant bombardment of health care infrastructure, and the killing of cancer patients and their carers. The Week’s programme will include a hook up with the ECO/ASCO Special Session on Ukraine broadcast from the European Cancer Summit meeting in Brussels and an exclusive 4-hour session hosted directly from the National Cancer Institute in Kyiv, Ukraine
● First-hand testimony from the nurses around the world about the damaging effect Climate Change is having on the care available to their patients (Tuesday 15 November)
● A high-level live expert discussion at the Royal Society of Medicine on how Inequities in Cancer Care in LMICs might be reduced through the introduction of Universal Health Coverage (Wednesday 16 November)
● Of the 10 million deaths from cancer per year, 2.5 million are linked to tobacco consumption. Experts in tobacco control will provide insight into how the Tobacco industry still has the power to influence health policy (Wednesday 16 November)
● Ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics and 2026 Commonwealth Games, the debate will continue on the importance of physical exercise in the prevention of NCDs and how Sport can be mobilised in the fight against cancer (Thursday 18 November)
London Global Cancer Week provides the level field on which members of the global cancer community – ‘Health Professional, Patient or Other’ - can meet to share their experience, knowledge and concerns, regardless of their country’s size or wealth. For cancer patients to stand the best chance of survival they need health services to be properly funded and operating at the top of their game. Pre-requirements for this are Peace, Financial Stability and Governments that accept responsibility for the healthcare of their populations. Instead, cancer patients worldwide are facing the effects of a global ‘polycrisis’. Since last year’s meeting in November 2021 we have witnessed examples of political chaos and incompetence globally, unprovoked murderous aggression fuelling global economic crises and the unchecked effects of catastrophic climate change; all of which have led to the mass movement of refugee populations and the exodus of health care professionals from regions where they are most needed. It is no wonder that Ukraine, Climate Change and Finance are key themes this year. The same governments that have dithered over Climate Change are the ones that continue to demonstrate a lack of political will to address the global cancer pandemic in which one person dies from cancer every 4½ seconds in the low- and middle- income countries and 8 out of 10 of those deaths occur without any effective pain relief. In the face of such suffering the deliberate retreat of the UK government from the international development arena is particularly regrettable.
Access to cancer care is a human right and requires sustained political will. Cancer care should be affordable, of value and evidence-based. London Global Cancer Week provides a vital platform for those in the UK and around the world to showcase what’s being done and what needs to be done to reduce the inequity in cancer outcomes in low- and middle- income countries where most of the world’s population with cancer die. By advocating as a global community (from grassroots bodies to intergovernmental organisations) for improved cancer care across the continuum (prevention, diagnosis, treatment, survivorship and/or palliative care) we will emerge stronger and create the change that is required to improve this situation.
For more information about London Global Cancer Week visit www.lgcw.org.uk.
Social Media:
#LondonGlobalCancer #LondonGlobalCancerWeek @LGCW2020
Instagram: @LondonGlobalCancer
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We first met Naa in 2016 when she was diagnosed with Wilm’s Tumour at 7 years old. In 2021 the cancer returned and Naa underwent treatment again. She has battled cancer twice and is now back in school.
Read moreJoseph’s update
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