Today, February 4, is observed as International World Cancer Day – a day when sufferers, survivors and those who know people who have been affected by the disease, create awareness about its prevention, detection, and treatment.
According to the Cancer Association of South Africa, (CANSA), cancer cases are expected to continue rising. It’s estimated that 8.2 million people die from the disease worldwide each year, of which, four million are premature deaths (ages 30 to 69 years).
Over the next 10 years, it’s projected that cancer deaths will increase to more than 14 million per year.
Andre Ilbawi, a cancer specialist at the World Health Organization (WHO), told a UN briefing ahead of World Cancer Day, lung cancer was the most common type over the last two decades, but is now in second place, ahead of colorectal cancer, which is the third most widespread. Breast cancer bet them to the top spot.
As the global population grows and life expectancy increases, cancer is expected to become more common, rising to about 30 million new cases per year in 2040 from 19.3 million in 2020, Ilbawi said.
Dr Friedel Kerchhoff, a medical adviser at Sanlam, said the value of knowing you have a family history of cancer and preparing yourself and your family for the possibility should not be underestimated – either from a healthcare perspective or from a financial point of view, given the heavy financial burden which cancer can present.
Kerchhoff notes that a cancer diagnosis can have devastating consequences and that people are, all too often, caught unaware. Knowing your family’s health history can be extremely beneficial, as family members share genes, lifestyle habits, and environments which may affect an individual’s risk of developing cancer.
While most gene changes are acquired during an individual’s lifetime due to lifestyle habits, infections and environmental or chemical exposure, some gene changes are passed on from parents to their children.
Kerchhoff explains that cancer can run in families for two reasons:
When families share similar lifestyle habits or exposures that increase their cancer risk. For example, a family with multiple members who smoke heavily – would have an increased risk of developing lung cancer compared to a family of non-smokers, or where very few members smoke. Cancer that can develop in this instance is called a sporadic cancer – cancer due to genetic changes acquired after birth.
When abnormal genes (mutations) that can lead to cancer are passed down from one generation to the next. This is called inherited or hereditary cancer syndrome.
There are two ways to find out about your family’s health history and determine your cancer risk, explains Kerchhoff. The first would be to ask all your first-degree relatives (parents, children, and full siblings) as well as your second-degree relatives (grandparents, aunts/ uncles, nieces/ nephews, grandchildren, and half-siblings) some questions.
For each family member collect as much of the following information as possible:
- Have they ever had cancer?
- What type of cancer(s)?
- Their age at diagnosis.
- Lineage, ie., are they on the mother’s side (maternal) or on the father’s side (paternal)?
- Ethnicity (people of certain ethnicities, e.g., those with Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, are at greater risk for certain cancers).
- Results of any previous cancer-related genetic testing they may have had.
- If they have passed on, at what age and what caused their death?
No one wants to think of the possibility of a cancer diagnosis and what this would entail. “By knowing your family’s cancer history, you can take the necessary preventative measures to protect yourself and your family. This will help you educate yourself about potential cancer you may be at risk for and ensure you have suitable financial strategies in place so that you can fight the disease without the added burden of worrying about the financial implications,” concludes Kerchhoff.