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The number of cancer cases in Latin America is growing, according to information released at a recent conference in Buenos Aires that sought to examine the rise of the disease in the region. The number of current cases is shocking, and the reports from the conference reveal a grim prediction for the future. Mexico’s Milenio reports:

América Latina has a virtual epidemia of advanced cancer due to the scarce programs of control and prevention of the disease in the region and the lack of medical personnel, the [Cancer] specialists [at the conference] said on Monday.

It is estimated that in Latin America there are 800,000 new cases of cancer each year, of which 450,000 end with the death of the patient, a number which could double by the year 2020 if the current state of deficiency in the prevention of and attention to the disease continues.

The Buenos Aires event was funded by monies from a Nobel prize by the Programme for Action Cancer Therapy (PACT), part of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is organizing other events in the region to bring medical specialists together in an effort to end the cycle of misinformation. PACT has also designated 40 million dollars to the creation of cancer prevention centers, the purchase of equipment and training of medical personnel in Latin America.

Via / Milenio