| BOOK REVIEW |
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| Year : 2004 | Volume
: 10
| Issue : 2 | Page : 80 |
Cancer in Developing Countries: The great challenge for oncology in the 21st century
G Kilara
Curie Centre of Oncology, Bangalore, India
Correspondence Address:
G Kilara
Curie Centre of Oncology, Bangalore
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
How to cite this article:
Kilara G. Cancer in Developing Countries: The great challenge for oncology in the 21st century. Indian J Palliat Care 2004;10:80 |
Tanneberger, Cavalli and Pannuti, Editors
The treatment of cancer is often prohibitively expensive. This book provides glimpses of successful anticancer initiatives in the resource poor world, despite the problems of inadequate health care resources, illiteracy, political instability and competing health care priorities.
Cancer in Developing Countries, edited by Tanneberger, Cavalli and Pannuti (with support from Foundation ANT Italia), is a compendium of articles about cancer related projects in various developing countries. The foreword by Dr. Ian Magrath is an incisive analysis of the problems these countries face in their fight against cancer. Stephen Tanneberger's introduction sets the stage and highlights the difficulties of data collection.
The second section of the book has nine articles from different parts of the developing world dealing with topics as diverse as the Monza's International School of Paediatric Haemato Oncology, (a childhood cancer mortality collaborative programme,) and Can Support- a domiciliary palliative care programme in Delhi. The articles from Serbia, Albania and Nicaragua make very interesting reading, touching as they do on the impact of politico-social imbalances and upheavals. The five articles in the third section address the important area of audit in oncology, or in many cases, the complete absence of any such audit!
Overall, Cancer in Developing Countries is a thought provoking addition to our understanding of the global cancer situation. The good news is that quite a lot is happening even in economically challenged nations. Much more remains to be done. Collaborative efforts between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' (the very successful programme in Nicaragua for example), can help bridge the huge gap between the two worlds.
Stephan Tanneberger and his team deserve to be congratulated on an outstanding effort.
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