Cancer to hit SA hard

"Kaposi's sarcoma will become the main fatal cancer in South Africa within five years", said Carl Albrecht, head of research of the Cancer Association of South Africa (Cansa).

"Right now Kaposi's sarcoma is the primary fatal cancer in the north of South Africa," he said. "HIV/Aids descended from middle Africa to South Africa and now South Africa has the world's highest HIV-death rate. Logically Kaposi's sarcoma, which needs some time to manifest, will follow."

60 000 deaths in SA due to cancer a year
Kaposi's sarcoma is a form of cancer typically found on the skin, but also commonly spreading elsewhere, especially to the mouth. In a statement the organisation said about 60 000 deaths in South Africa were due to cancer per year and 100 000 new cases were diagnosed.

Albrecht said an HIV/Aids patient who died of cancer would be registered by his immediate cause of death - cancer.

"HIV/Aids has become synonymous with cancer due to the increase in certain types of cancers that HIV/Aids patients are diagnosed with." – (Sapa) -February, 2008

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