Latin America faces a "worrying" increase in cancer, and unless something is done to improve health care in the developing region and help prevent the disease, the area is facing the possibility of an epidemic, according to a new study commissioned by The Lancet.
The irony is that one of the reasons why the cancer rate is increasing is because of growing prosperity in the region of Latin America and the Caribbeans. The researchers for The Lancet Oncology journal said that, while Latin Americans enjoy the blessings of a stronger economy and greater wealth, they also have a higher life expectancy, are less active, are more prone to obesity, and are more likely to indulge in alcohol and tobacco.
Cancer rates in the large region are looking to rise more than 33 percent by 2020, according to the study, but those will be accompanied by an unusually high death rate due to cancer. Latin Americans currently develop cancer at a lower rate than developed counties like the United States - almost half as much - but they're also two times more likely to die from their disease.
Researchers are estimating that by 2030, there will be upwards of 1.7 million cases of diagnosed cancer in Latin America and the Caribbean, with more than 1 million people dying from their illness.
According to the BBC, Paul Gross, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston and leader of the commission behind the report, worried about how prepared Latin America and the Caribbeans are for the cost burden of a rapidly growing population of cancer patients.
"This burgeoning cancer problem threatens to cause widespread suffering and economic peril to the countries of Latin America," said Gross. "The region is poorly equipped to deal with the alarming rise in cancer incidence and disproportionally high mortality rates compared with other world regions, underscoring the magnitude of the cancer-control problem."
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