DAR ES SALAAM – People living with cancer are dying on the African continent in terrible pain as they present too late with advanced cancers that are mostly incurable by the time they reach a health worker and if they do reach help most of them find that effective pain medication not available.

Lives of AIDS patients in poor countries could be severely compromised if donors and rich nations continue reducing their funding commitments to AIDS programmes.

In a frank admission of the Mbeki government’€™s failure to address HIV/AIDS, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi this week blamed ‘€œdenialism’€ for the ‘€œshocking’€ increase in the death rate among South Africans. Deaths rose by 182,654 in a single year, from 573,408 in 2007 to 756,062 in 2008. Read his full powerpoint presentation here.

DAR-ES-SALAAM – Taxation is the most powerful weapon governments have at their disposal to control tobacco consumption and ultimately decrease deaths, Dr Yussuf Saloojee of the National Council Against Smoking told the African Organisation for Research & Training in Cancer (AORTIC) conference.

In South Africa, cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women. It kills about 3 400 women every year. The good news is that cervical cancer is preventable and curable if detected early.

DAR-ES-SALAAM ‘€“ While several African countries are making progress in implementing smokefree laws, nearly 90 percent of people on the continent remain without meaningful protection from secondhand smoke.

Pat McKenny never considered having a pap smear, in fact the thought of cervical cancer simply never crossed the mother of three’€™s mind.

People with albinism are advised to protect themselves from the sun as they are at most risk of developing skin cancer.

One in 27 women is diagnosed with breast cancer every year in South Africa. Women are advised to follow a simple precautionary procedure in order to detect the cancerous growth early.