The daily PRI radio news program The World will soon air a week-long series about cancer’s global reach.
As regular Boing Boing readers know, cancer’s been a frequent blogging topic of mine since I was diagnosed with breast cancer almost exactly one year ago this week.
From what host Marco Werman sent along, it sounds like a really great reporting series, and I’ll definitely be tuning in.
Here’s a preview of one episode that focuses on cancer care in Uganda. More below.
Part I: “Cancer’s Lonely Soldier” (airing December 3)
Dr. Jackson Orem heads the Uganda Cancer Institute. Until recently, he was the only oncologist in a country of more than 30 million people. He argues that cancer deserves the same attention given to other afflictions in the developing world, such as AIDS and malaria.Part II: “Pink Ribbons to Haiti” (airing December 4)
Haitian women know little about breast cancer, and those who contract it rarely receive treatment. An American charity and its local partners are trying to change that, but it’s not easy providing cancer care in the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country.Part III: “An Ounce of Prevention” (airing December 5)
Cervical cancer is far more common – and more deadly – in the developing world than in the United States. One reason: women in the U.S. receive routine screening that catches the disease in its earliest stages. A low-cost test being rolled out in India could save tens of thousands of lives there each year.Part IV: “The Infectious Connection” (airing December 6)
Cancer can be triggered by infectious diseases, especially in impoverished parts of the world. Scientists in the U.S. and Africa are working to unravel how viruses and bacteria cause malignancies. By breaking that cycle, they hope to prevent tumors from forming in the first place.Part V: “Dispensing Comfort” (airing December 7)
Modern cancer care involves more than the latest surgical techniques and chemotherapy drugs; it also offers freedom from pain. Yet basic palliative care, in the form of morphine, is almost nonexistent for many patients in developing countries. What is being done to bring them pain relief?
PRI’s The World has released two audio previews, to give you a feel for the series: here’s a link to the cervical cancer story audio preview.
And here is the pain and palliative care tease.
(Thanks, Tory!)