Global Context
All around the world, breast cancer has been identified and studied as one of the leading cause of death in women. Breast cancer caused over 521,000 deaths worldwide in 2012, while other cancers such as lung and liver cancer show numbers of up to 2.23 million deaths that year. However, the rates at which breast cancer is found and treated varies from country to the next as some have much higher incidence rates than others.
Some countries are better prepared to treat cancer. However, despite being more prepared, more developed countries struggle with higher breast cancer rates. According to the World Health Organization, the worldwide breast cancer rate is 43 per 100,000 women, looking at the data, breast cancer rates in women who live in more developed countries (USA, UK, France, Belgium, Denmark… e.g.) are more than double than those of women who live in less developed countries (Bangladesh, Angola, Sudan, Uganda, Afghanistan… e.g.). The breast cancer rate of women living in more developed countries is 74 per 100,000 and the rate of women in living in less developed countries 31 per 100,000 these numbers show the disproportionate gap between more developed and less developed countries as well as providing a model of how severe breast cancer is in a developed country like Belgium compared to a developing country like Uganda. The country of Belgium is ranked 1st in the world for breast cancer frequency in women. In Belgium 112 per 100,000 women are diagnosed with cancer, but Belgium is also ranked 1st for highest proportion of breast cancer survivors still alive five years after their diagnosis: 41,418.
. This provides a vivid idea of how severe breast cancer is in Belgium as well as showing what the country has done to combat breast cancer.
In Uganda, breast cancer is the 3rd most common cancer behind Kaposi’s sarcoma and cervical cancer. The rate of breast cancer in Uganda is 22 per 100,000 women. This country is less developed than one like Belgium. Although Belgium has a high breast cancer incidence rate, it has a much better survival rate due to the fact that there are only 2 mammography units in the entire country of Uganda. A mammography is specialized medical imaging unit that uses small doses of X-ray radiation to look at the breast to search for tumors, and because Uganda only has two units to serve the entire population, mass screening for breast cancer is impossible. Therefore, less people survive the disease because it is identified later than in countries with available detection methods.
All around the world, breast cancer has been identified and studied as one of the leading cause of death in women. Breast cancer caused over 521,000 deaths worldwide in 2012, while other cancers such as lung and liver cancer show numbers of up to 2.23 million deaths that year. However, the rates at which breast cancer is found and treated varies from country to the next as some have much higher incidence rates than others.
Some countries are better prepared to treat cancer. However, despite being more prepared, more developed countries struggle with higher breast cancer rates. According to the World Health Organization, the worldwide breast cancer rate is 43 per 100,000 women, looking at the data, breast cancer rates in women who live in more developed countries (USA, UK, France, Belgium, Denmark… e.g.) are more than double than those of women who live in less developed countries (Bangladesh, Angola, Sudan, Uganda, Afghanistan… e.g.). The breast cancer rate of women living in more developed countries is 74 per 100,000 and the rate of women in living in less developed countries 31 per 100,000 these numbers show the disproportionate gap between more developed and less developed countries as well as providing a model of how severe breast cancer is in a developed country like Belgium compared to a developing country like Uganda. The country of Belgium is ranked 1st in the world for breast cancer frequency in women. In Belgium 112 per 100,000 women are diagnosed with cancer, but Belgium is also ranked 1st for highest proportion of breast cancer survivors still alive five years after their diagnosis: 41,418.
. This provides a vivid idea of how severe breast cancer is in Belgium as well as showing what the country has done to combat breast cancer.
In Uganda, breast cancer is the 3rd most common cancer behind Kaposi’s sarcoma and cervical cancer. The rate of breast cancer in Uganda is 22 per 100,000 women. This country is less developed than one like Belgium. Although Belgium has a high breast cancer incidence rate, it has a much better survival rate due to the fact that there are only 2 mammography units in the entire country of Uganda. A mammography is specialized medical imaging unit that uses small doses of X-ray radiation to look at the breast to search for tumors, and because Uganda only has two units to serve the entire population, mass screening for breast cancer is impossible. Therefore, less people survive the disease because it is identified later than in countries with available detection methods.