Cancer and other non-communicable diseases are on the rise worldwide, resulting in 38 million deaths each year, with almost three-quarters of NCD deaths – 28 million – occurring in low- and middle-income countries.
As Larry Shulman, MD, director of the Center for Global Cancer Medicine at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, points out in a new JAMA Oncology piece, access to treatment, especially expensive cancer medications is a looming barrier that results in many preventable deaths each year. Likening the lack of access to cancer care to that of antiretroviral treatment in the early days of AIDS epidemic, Shulman and his co-authors point to efforts to Rwanda that prove that providing these medications can save many lives.
Shulman is available for interviews via phone and in-person to discuss this emerging global health challenge.
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