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Global Cancer Occurrence To Surge To 77 % By 2050, Says UN—-Global cancer cases are expected to rise around 77 per cent by the middle of the century, UN health authorities said on Thursday.

According to latest figures from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a specialised branch of the UN World Health Organisation (WHO), there are predicted to be more than 35 million cancer cases during 2050, up from the estimated 20 million in 2022.

The increase reflects both population ageing and growth, as well as changes to people’s exposure to risk factors which include tobacco, alcohol and obesity are key factors, along with air population.

Richer countries are expected to have the greatest absolute increase in cancer, with an additional 4.8 million new cases predicted in 2050.

However, low and middle-income countries should see a higher proportional increase in cancer, while mortality is projected to almost double.

The estimates from the IARC’s Global Cancer Observatory are based on the best sources of data available from 185 countries and covers 36 different forms of cancer.

They were published alongside a WHO survey from 115 countries which showed that the majority do not adequately finance priority cancer and palliative care services as part of universal health coverage.

Ten types of cancer collectively comprised around two-thirds of new cases and deaths globally in 2022, the IARC said.

Lung cancer was the most commonly occurring form worldwide with 2.5 million new cases.  It accounted for more than 12 per cent of all new cases and 18.9 per cent of deaths, 1.8 million, making it the leading cause of cancer death.

Female breast cancer ranked second in terms of occurrence, with 2.3 million cases, worldwide or 11.6 per cent, but accounted for 6.9 per cent of deaths.

Other commonly occurring cancers were colorectal, prostate and stomach cancer.

Colorectal cancer was the second leading cause of cancer death, followed by liver, breast and stomach cancer.

Cervical cancer was the eighth most commonly occurring cancer globally, the ninth leading cause of cancer death, and the most common cancer in women in 25 countries, many of which are in sub-Saharan Africa.

The IARC estimates – issued ahead of World Cancer Day on February 4 – also revealed striking inequalities, particularly in breast cancer.

One in 12 women in richer countries will be diagnosed with the disease in their lifetime and one in 71 will die of it, the agency said.

However, although only one in 27 women in poorer countries will receive a positive breast cancer diagnosis, one in 48 will die.

These women “are at a much higher risk of dying of the disease due to late diagnosis and inadequate access to quality treatment,” Dr. Isabelle Soerjomataram, Deputy Head of the Cancer Surveillance Branch at IARC, said.

The WHO survey also revealed significant global inequities in cancer services. For example, higher income countries were up to seven times more likely to include lung cancer-related services in their health benefits packages.

“WHO, including through its cancer initiatives, is working intensively with more than 75 governments to develop, finance and implement policies to promote cancer care for all,” Dr Bente Mikkelsen, Director of its Department of Noncommunicable Diseases, said, underlining the need for greater investment.

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Dame Maggie Smith Oscar-winning Harry Potter and Downton Abbey Star Dies, Aged 89

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Dame Maggie Smith

Dame Maggie Smith Oscar-winning Harry Potter and Downton Abbey Star Dies, Aged 89—-In the Harry Potter films, Dame Maggie played the acerbic Professor Minerva McGonagall, famous for her pointed witch’s hat and stern manner with the young wizards at Hogwarts.

In hit ITV drama Downton Abbey, she played Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, the grand matriarch who excelled at withering one-liners through the show’s six series.

A statement from her sons Toby Stephens and Chris Larkin said: “It is with great sadness we have to announce the death of Dame Maggie Smith.

“She passed away peacefully in hospital early this morning, Friday 27th September.

“An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end. She leaves two sons and five loving grandchildren who are devastated by the loss of their extraordinary mother and grandmother.”

They thanked “the wonderful staff at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital for their care and unstinting kindness during her final days”.

They added: “We thank you for all your kind messages and support and ask that you respect our privacy at this time.”

Tributes were also paid by her co-stars.

Hugh Bonneville, who appeared in Downton Abbey, said: “Anyone who ever shared a scene with Maggie will attest to her sharp eye, sharp wit and formidable talent.

“She was a true legend of her generation and thankfully will live on in so many magnificent screen performances. My condolences to her boys and wider family.”

Dame Maggie also reprised her role for the two Downton Abbey films.

In 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era, her character died of the illness she revealed at the end of the 2019 film, to the huge upset of her family and friends.

Downton followed the success of 2002 period drama Gosford Park, which earned Dame Maggie both Oscar and Bafta nominations for playing Dowager Countess of Trentham.

In his statement on Friday, the prime minister said Dame Maggie “introduced us to new worlds with the countless stories she acted over her long career”.

“Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones. May she rest in peace,” he wrote.

Dame Kristin Scott-Thomas, who starred alongside Dame Maggie in 2005’s Keeping Mum and 2014’s My Old Lady, said she “took acting very seriously but saw through the nonsense and razzmatazz”.

“She really didn’t want to deal with that,” Dame Kristin added.

“She had a sense of humour and wit that could reduce me to a blithering puddle of giggles. And she did not have patience with fools. So you had to be a bit careful. I absolutely adored her.

“The last time I saw her, she was very cross about being old. ‘Maddening’ I think she said. Much loved, much admired and irreplaceable.”

A National Theatre spokesperson said her career “spanned the theatrical, film and television world without equal”.

Praising her stage performances, the statement added: “She will forever be remembered as one of the greatest actors this country has had the inestimable pleasure of witnessing.”

Bafta added that she was a “legend of British stage and screen”, praising her five competitive Bafta wins, plus the special award and fellowship she received from the organisation.

Dame Maggie’s career spanned eight decades, with early acclaim coming when she gained her first Bafta nomination for Nowhere to Go in 1958.

In 1963, she was offered the part of Desdemona in Othello at the National Theatre by Laurence Olivier, and two years later it was made into a film and Smith was nominated for her first Oscar.

The actress’s other memorable roles included 1985 Merchant Ivory film A Room With a View, in which she played the chaperone Charlotte Barlett, accompanying Helen Bonham Carter’s Lucy Honeychurch to Italy.

The role earned her another Oscar nomination and a Bafta.

And along with another national treasure, Dame Judi Dench, she appeared as an English woman living in 1930s Italy in the film Tea with Mussolini, which was released in 1999.

The two dames also shared screen time in A Room With a View and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.

Dame Maggie played the firm but fair Reverend Mother in the two Sister Act films, starring Whoopi Goldberg as nightclub singer Doloris Wilson, who takes refuge from the mob in San Francisco by posing as a nun in a local convent.

Goldberg called Dame Maggie “a great woman and a brilliant actress”, adding: “I still can’t believe I was lucky enough to work with the ‘one-of-a-kind’.”

Rob Lowe, who starred with Dame Maggie in 1993’s Suddenly, Last Summer, recalled “the unforgettable experience of working with her”.

“Sharing a two-shot was like being paired with a lion,” he said.

“She could eat anyone alive, and often did. But funny, and great company. And suffered no fools.

“We will never see another. God speed, Ms Smith!”

The veteran actress also played the old woman who spent 15 years living in a van outside Alan Bennett’s house in a film adaptation of the writer’s The Lady in the Van in 2015.

Her final roles included 2023’s The Miracle Club, which follows a group of women from Dublin who go on a pilgrimage to the French town of Lourdes, co-starring Kathy Bates and Laura Linney.

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BREAKING: Akwa Ibom First Lady Dies Suddenly In Hospital

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Akwa Ibom

BREAKING: Akwa Ibom First Lady Dies Suddenly In Hospital—-In a shocking and heartbreaking development, the wife of the governor of Akwa Ibom of State, Pastor Mrs Patience Umo Eno, is dead.

Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information, Ini Ememobong, in a release at dawn on Friday on the sad news, stated that the State 1st Lady died following a yet undisclosed illness.

Ememobong’s statement tagged “Unexpected Sunset” read, “It is with heavy hearts that we (Akwa Ibom Government) announce the passing of the Wife of the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Her Excellency, Pastor Mrs Patience Umo Eno, following an illness.

She passed away peacefully at the hospital, on 26th September, 2024, in the presence of her family. The family submits to the will of the Almighty and asks for the prayers and support of kind-hearted individuals during this difficult time.

Further details will be provided by the family as necessary. In the meantime, the family kindly requests privacy as they mourn their beloved wife, mother and grandmother.

“His Excellency, the Governor, Pastor Umo Eno appreciates all who have stood by the first family in this period and assures all the citizens that despite this huge personal loss, his commitment to the service of the state is unwavering.”

Developing story….

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