CHALLENGES OF CANCER FACED BY UK AND US

Challenges of Cancer faced by UK and US

[Lawin Nally Osman]

[Oxford Brookes]

Challenges of Cancer faced by UK and US

Introduction

Statistics have revealed that cancer is the most common cause of fatalities all over the world and accounted for about 7.6 million deaths in the year 2008 (Globocan, 2008). However, it has been estimated that more than 30 percent of deaths caused by cancer can be prevented, but lack of awareness and lifestyle factors contribute to the rapid death rate because of the said disease. The rate is quite alarming because approximations show that by the year 2030, death rates would increase to over 11 million (Globocan 2008). However, governments and healthcare agencies of US and UK are engaged in preventive measures. These agencies try hard to bring in the equity for patients of cancer in terms of healthcare distribution for cancer patients and healthcare system. This measure can bring in conflicts. For this reason, these agencies and patients have to face social and ethical issues for the treatment of the disease and the preventive measures for the general population. For this reason, the government and healthcare agencies are required to understand these social and ethical concerns in order to come up with corrective measures for these issues. There are various kinds of challenges faced by UK and US in terms of understanding the social, ethical and medical problems being faced by the society and the social institutions. This assignment will examine all the challenging factors that are affecting the people of UK and US who are facing terrible consequences of cancer.

Discussion

Cancer is an abnormality, a disorder that affects the cells of our body. Our body consists of a multitude of cells; each specialized in a function, such as filter impurities from the blood (renal cell) or transport oxygen throughout the body (blood cells) (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009).

There are different types of cancer. Cancer can develop in any part or organ or tissue of the body. These could include lung, breast, skin, bones, colon, nerve tissues, etc. The most common types of cancer which cause death among men include lung cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer as shown in the Fig. 1 in appendix. The cancer types which cause death among women include breast cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer. Some other common types of cancer which are witnessed around the world are cervical cancer, brain cancer, liver cancer, kidney cancer, uterine cancer, thyroid cancer, skin cancer, testicular cancer, ovarian cancer and Leukemia, as shown in the Fig. 2 in appendix. These are the most common types of cancer found in different parts of the world (Silverstein, 2006).

Status of the Disease in the Society of United States

It has been studied that in United States, one of the most common risk factor is the age or aging problem because there is a proportion of two thirds of all cancers occur at any age.

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