In Sierra Leone; cancer group champions campaign to save girl from excessive tumor

The non-governmental organization, Rowaca Cancer Group – Sierra Leone, with the support of Childhood Cancer (CHOC) South Africa is presently advocating for the provision of medical help for 3 year 7 months old Zainab Koroma who is blind in the one eye and presently suffering from excessive tumor in the affected eye.
Zainab Kamara was healthy when she was born and life was promising for her young parents until an elderly person said to them she was not a normal girl- her eyes see beyond the normal person.
Her parent took her to a tribal doctor who used herbs in her eyes.
Her mother said she later noticed Zainab scratching her eye.
“We noticed later that she was not seeing properly and we took her to the Magbeseneh hospital but we were referred to the Eye clinic where we were informed her eye had become faulty.
According to the parent she totally lost her sight in the one eye but that two months ago the bad eye was swollen.
“Now the doctors said her case is serious,” lamented her other, adding ‘I am afraid for my daughter’s life.’
The Team Leader of RCG-SL, Alpha Kamara, said he was informed about the child and that after seeing her condition urgently informed the Director of the Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa (CHOC).
Kamara said through CHOC’s effort, the case of the child has attracted international concerns and efforts are presently ongoing to save her life.
“We are presently collaborating with the doctor in charge of the case to communicate with a doctor abroad who has shown interest to find a solution to the girl’s case,” Kamara said, adding that she needs Chemotherapy and radiation treatment.
He said the girl might have developed cancerous cells and needs standard medical attention to cure her.
Cancer begins when a particular cell or group of cells in the body begin to multiply and grow without control. Oncology is the study of these cells.
The cancerous cells stop working properly and as their numbers increase they form a lump or tumour. Eventually, the normal cells will be crowded out and the cancerous cells, if not treated, will take over. When cancer cells break away and spread to other parts of the body they may produce secondary tumours known as metastases.
Sometimes the cancer will affect the blood, causing leukaemia.
Kamara said Childhood cancers are quite different from cancers affecting adults. They tend to occur in different parts of the body, look different under the microscope, and respond differently to treatment. Cure rates for most childhood cancers are much higher than those for most adult cancers. Today, the majority of childhood cancers can be treated very effectively, and 65-70% can now be completely cured. Culled from http://inwent-iij-lab.org

UN To Hold Non-Communicable Disease Summit

Rowaca Cancer Group – Sierra Leone supports the United Nations General Assembly move to hold a Non-communicable Disease (NCD) Summit involving Heads of State, in September 2011.

Kamara made this disclosure on Tuesday while talking to members of the media at his 17 Liverpool Street office.

The assembly is to address the threat posed by NCDs to low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

“Rowaca Cancer Group – Sierra Leone congratulates the unanimous decision of the UN Assemble in making LMICs a priority in their decision making,” says RCG-SL Team Leader, Alpha B. Kamara.

Kamara said the decision was also congratulated by the World Heart Federation, International Diabetes Federation (IDF), International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union).

Kamara said the alliance of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) represents the four diseases - cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer and chronic respiratory diseases - that are responsible for 35 million annual deaths globally, 80% of which occur in LMICs. The alliance has been at the forefront of advocacy efforts to ensure the rising burden of NCDs was addressed in the global health and development agendas.

The World Heart Federation, IDF, UICC and The Union together represent 882 member associations in more than 170 countries. By mobilizing their member networks and working with the World Health Organization's (WHO) NCDnet as well as other key organizations such as the Global Alliance on Respiratory Diseases and the Framework Convention Alliance they are one step closer to ensuring NCDs get the urgent attention they deserve, including a greater national focus, an integrated health-systems approach and allocation of essential funding.

This will result in millions of lives being saved and a reversal in damaging social and economic effects.

The UN NCD Summit involving Heads of State to be held in September 2011, will bring together government representatives from both overseas aid donor countries and LMICs with public health experts from around the world.

They will discuss solutions to the growing danger posed by NCDs, and agree what action needs to be taken. The NCD alliance will support WHO in catalysing this process. There have only been 28 such summits in UN history which highlights the significance of the decision and the magnitude of the problem. The NCD alliance requests that member states invest the necessary resources to guarantee successful implementation.

  The WHO estimates that global deaths from NCDs will continue to rise over the next 10 years, with the African region expected to see the highest relative increase (27%).

An increasing body of evidence shows that the impact of NCDs on individuals, communities, and countries is undermining the achievement of the Millennium

Sign Boards

Rowaca Cancer Group - Sierra Leone has commissioned two sign boards to add to its campaign in Sierra Leone.

The team leader, Alpha B. Kamara, said the sign boards will serve as reminder to community people.
"We should use every tool available to address the burden of cancer," he said.
Kamara said the speech by the president, Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma, during the opening of Parliament has showed that the Government is oblivious of the felt needs of the people of Sierra Leone, especially the health sector which for years has been the main economic problems of this nation.
He said one key factor that is yet to be taken into cognizant by the stakeholders, especially the ministry of health, is the rising cases of Cancer among the people of this nation.

Sensitization Can Be Key To Cancer Control

Information, through a well planned sustainable advocacy, can bring awareness to the people to know the dangers of cancer and the risk unsuspecting people may face from tobacco smoking and exposure to cancer causative substances. Information Dissemination, through the collection, analysis, and dissemination of information useful in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer can be critical to saving lives of millions of people.

Lung Cancer is mostly linked to exposure to cancer-causing substances: this includes exposure to asbestos in the mining or construction industries. Also exposure to certain industrial substances like coal products, nickel chromate, vinyl chloride, and exposure to some organic chemicals like chloromethyl ethers.

However, the most common cause of lung cancer is tobacco smoking.

The Rome 8 January 2004 report of the Food and Agricultural Organization of The United Nations (FAO) states, “Higher world tobacco use expected by 2010.”

The FAO says “number of smokers is growing - production shifting to developing countries”

The Rome 8 January 2004 report further states “World tobacco demand is expected to increase until the year 2010 due to population and income growth, but at lower rates than in the past, according to a new study published by FAO.

That while in developed countries tobacco smoking is set to continue to decline; in developing countries consumption will increase (Projections of tobacco production, consumption and trade to the year 2010).

The report states that world tobacco production is projected to reach over 7.1 million tonnes of tobacco leaf in the year 2010, up from 5.9 million tonnes in 1997/99.

“The number of smokers is expected to grow from 1.1 billion in 1998 to around 1.3 billion in 2010,” according to the report, adding that this is an increase of about 1.5 percent annually.

Despite the overall increase of tobacco use, FAO expects consumption per adult to decline by around 10 percent by 2010, and that individual consumption will probably be around 1.4 kg per year (from around 1.6 kg in 2000).

FAO said applying an aggressive anti-smoking and anti-tobacco policy, tobacco consumption per person could even drop by 20 percent.

The World Health Organization (WHO) also states that cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide accounting for 7.4 million deaths (around 13% of all deaths) in 2004, that Lung, stomach, liver, colon and breast cancer causes the most cancer deaths each year.

WHO also states that more than 30% of cancer deaths can be prevented and that tobacco use is the single most important risk factor for cancer.

  “Deaths from cancer worldwide are projected to continue rising, with an estimated 12 million deaths in 2030.”

Taking a cue from the FAO and WHO, there is a dare need of radical advocacy campaigns against tobacco smoking if cancer must be controlled.

The fight against cancer and Lung cancer in particular, needs remedial measures that must be proactively implemented to save the millions of people in Africa and other third world nations from activities that might expose them to the disease.

Public smoking of tobacco is in high use among people in Africa, and Sierra Leone is no exception. There is always the potential for infants, children and non-smokers to fall victims of lung cancer.

Taking into consideration the high rate of illiteracy and poverty, with the prevailing poor standard of health facilities in Africa coupled with expensive medicare, sensitization will help save many from the disease.

People must be made to know, in all forms of communication, that the most common cause of lung cancer is smoking. That smoking causes lung cancer because there are substances called carcinogens that cause the actual damage to the cells in the lungs. That a cell that is damaged may become cancerous over a period of time.

In Sierra Leone today, it is common for parents to smoke with their infants on their lap, smoking while on public vehicle, smoking in public places, and even in schools. This practice does not only encourage children and youths into the habit, but expose non smokers to the hazards of second hand smoking which increase their risk.

The Sierra Leone Government in 2009 banned all forms of tobacco smoking at the Government building, Youyi Building, in Freetown. The action is to discourage the practice in public buildings, especially Government buildings. But will this help solve the problem? I am sure it will not, until the campaign is taken down to the grassroots before then can we assure ourselves that the campaign to protect Sierra Leoneans from lung cancer is on course.

Sierra Leone today is faced with the task of rehabilitation and restructuring processes after a war that lasted for almost 11 years. The Government is not only faced with the challenge of building back the broken infrastructure, but has to contend with the problem of unemployment and poverty, and in its quest to pursue these goals, all sorts of investments opportunities are sort after worldwide. We’ve heard of companies violating international protocols on safety standards in the work place and Sierra Leone in her pursuit may risk her citizens through exposures to asbestos and other cancer causative substances, either in the mining or construction industries.

Sierra Leone has recently made tremendous effort in the mining industry by signing agreements with different mining companies to mine iron ore and explore oil in the offshore. The country is also rich in diamonds, bauxite, rutile and gold, among others. However these investment opportunities are directly or indirectly linked with activities that if not properly controlled, may expose the many people to be employed.

This is why it is high time we lobby Government for better health policies to b made to law.

Research suggests that some people are more at risk for developing cancer if their body is not as easily able to deal with certain cancer-causing chemicals. This inability to neutralize cancer-causing chemicals is believed to be inherited.

Researchers also believe that in some people, when they come into contact with certain cancer-causing agents, their immune system, instead of neutralizing them, will actually make these agents more aggressive within the body. Such people, therefore, would be more sensitive to tobacco smoke and chemicals known to cause cancer.

No Data On Cancer

It is sad to note that while cancer is taking high toll on people world wide, Sierra Leone is yet to get a statistical record of Sierra Leoneans suffering from the disease. These lapses cannot be disassociated with the war but now that we are building back our broken economy we must endevour to ensure all Sierra Leoneans get screening opportunities for early cancer detection, especially lung cancer.

What Is Lung Cancer?

Lung cancer is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells in one or both of the lungs.

The body is made up of different types of cells that normally divide and multiply in an orderly way. These new cells replace older cells. This process of cell birth and renewal occurs constantly in the body. Abnormal cells also periodically normally appear but are removed by natural defense mechanisms. Cancer, also known as a malignant growth, occurs when:

When the body's natural defenses, such as certain parts of the immune and other protective systems, cannot stop the uncontrolled cell division, cancer begins.

These abnormal cells become greater and greater in number, and come together to form a tumor, which is a cellular growth that forms a progressively enlarging mass. Such tumors are benign unless they invade surrounding tissues and organs, in which case they are malignant.

Cancerous tumors grow out of control and can invade, replace, and destroy normal cells near the tumor. In some cases, cancer cells spread (or metastasize) to other areas of the body.

Lung cancer generally takes many years to develop even though damage to the lungs may occur shortly after a person is exposed to cancer-causing substances.

With this information, it is worthy to note that Computed tomography (CT scan) and other forms of chemotherapy treatments are expensive in Sierra Leone. People suffering from cancer ailments had to sort outside the country for standard treatment, more especially in Ghana.

Radionuclide scanning and bone scans are a dream to most Sierra Leoneans, not even mentioning photodynamic therapy used during clinical trials for tumors in the main central airways that either recur after surgery or chemotherapy.

Why using the media to save third world countries?

Medical treatment for some forms of cancer is expensive, and lung cancer in its severe state involves expensive diagnosis and treatment. This therefore puts to greater risk poor people who may not have the finances to pay for medicare.

Being that we now know most of the causes can be controlled leaves us with no choice but to utilize the most effective means of cure, communication and proactive sensitization campaigns worldwide.

Strategies and mode of campaigns may defer from one country to the other, but Rowaca Cancer Group – Sierra Leone (RCG-SL) believes that engagement with the people through the Print and Electronic Media, cultural shows and community meetings can be vital to the campaign.

RCG-SL also believes that targeting young people in primary and secondary schools, and those in tertiary institutions can be more effective to making the consciousness widely. This is borne from the imperative of going public to control cancer because cancer is the global health concern of the 21^st century.

RCG-SL is supporting the Livestrong Global Cancer Campaign to making the campaign possible, because we believe that the numbers are staggering with more people dying from cancer than AIDS, TB and malaria combined. This disease knows no boundaries. And the impacts are significant.

 By 2030, it is estimated that more than 12 million people around the world will die of cancer each and every year. And many, many more will be touched by this disease. But it doesn't have to be this way.

We know how to control cancer. If we applied what we already know, we could cut the rate of cancer deaths by as much as half over the next generation worldwide. Millions of lives can be saved through prevention, early detection and diagnosis, treatment, supportive care and research are critical drivers.

Cancer leaders from around the world recognize that much can be done today to significantly reduce the impact of cancer. There is a need to come together, to connect in new ways, to collaborate like never before. And by working together through concerted action, cancer can be controlled collectively. We need to collaborate to engage with those that weren't present to play a critical role in this global effort.

Credit FAO and WHO

No Data On Cancer

Medical practitioners in Sierra Leone recently revealed at a One-day Workshop held at the College of Medicine and Allied Health Sciences that there is no data on cancer.

  The workshop which was held on Tuesday was attended by senior medical officers with co-partners from the University of Cardiff.

  According to Professor Alison Fianda, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology- Cardiff University, Sierra Leone has an estimated number of 11,400 cases or death per year.

  For a country with a population of 5.4 million, such a figure is threatening and needed grater attention by the government and stakeholders.

  However, cancer sensitization will be key to enlightening Sierra Leoneans about their health decisions, especially the majority poor, who are still finding it difficult to afford for their livelihood.