Recognition of surgical need as part of cancer control in Africa

Abstract

I commend the work of T Peter Kingham and colleagues,1 published as part of The Lancet Oncology's Series on cancer control in Africa, for the authors' recognition of the important and multifaceted role that surgeons have in the attainment of cancer care in sub-Saharan Africa. Too often, as Farmer and Kim2 have suggested, surgical care remains “the neglected stepchild of global health”, despite recognition of surgery as an essential element of public health. Kingham and colleagues'1 assertion that surgery needs to be included in efforts to improve cancer care in sub-Saharan Africa speaks to a growing realisation in public health that efforts to address oncological problems cannot stand alone.