SNOSSA Calling

The Society for NeuroOncology SubSaharan Africa is the region’s key organisation for the advancement of knowledge, deepening of research and? promotion of advocacy for brain and spine tumours in Africa.? It was formed 7 years ago, and has been organising annual conferences in Africa during this period, bringing together experts on and off the continent to discuss current treatment standards, upcoming guidelines and training opportunities for the future.? SNOSSA’s vision is to improve the standards of neurooncology care on the continent, making world standard neurologic cancer therapy available to as many Africans as possible.

Last year the annual meeting was in Nairobi, and more than 200 caregivers: medical, advocates and philanthropists together with industry met in the 6th annual conference.? This year, SNOSSA was in Harare, Zimbabwe, with more than 250 attendees from 15 countries learning, networking and strategising for better care.? The statistics for Africa still remain dire, but it was obvious from the energy in the various presentations, that there is a ground swell of health care innovation impacting various health care systems on the continent.

It was heartening to note, that collaborations - especially North/South had continued to grow, creating channels that trained human resource from the high income environment are impacting significantly in the low income environment.? In the region of limited resource, more knowledge means more strategy, better resource allocation and more prudent utilisation.

It is true that most of the research, molecular therapy and precision radiotherapy is off the continent, and that the best medical care is either in the northerly north, or southernmost tip of the continent. It is also true that working in the northern hemisphere, has never seemed more attractive, than now for highly trained medical people on the continent.? But it was heartening to see some of these highly trained people who could be thriving elsewhere, presenting on the work they were doing in their locality, and showing the impact, that the few can have.

One key revelation was how present the future was, in terms of medicine.? The truths previously hidden in the depths of metabolic machinery, are being exposed in ways that have made therapy more and more exact.? Cancer is no longer the mass that grows somewhere in the Central Nervous System and needs to be taken out.? It is a molecular screen play, with headlines and punctuations, advertising the agents that can slow the story down, or speed it up. And the quest for a formula, that deals with turning off the very agents that initiate cancer growth continues.? And there have been victories.? Victories, that once would have seemed far away from Africa, but now are not, because internet, telecommunications and air transport? have made the world a small place.? It is possible to do a surgery in Accra, ship the sample to South Africa and get the needed result in hours.? It is now possible? to discuss treatment options in the postoperative period and have a reasonable plan of treatment even in the limited resource environment, that is based on current science, adapting to the environment of the person.? And the advent of AI, is going to be a game changer for this continent, that is never going to be able to train enough medics for its burgeoning population.? AI is developed enough to diagnose images, analyse labs and make decisions, even develop treatment plans for tumors that spare normal tissue, completely autonomously. But Key to AI? impact, is collaboration among us.

At the end, we heard the stories of the ones who had survived the treatment we mete out.? Suddenly here we were face to face, with one of those who had gone under the knife.? We were all reminded about why we should do what we do, the best we can, wherever we are. We were reminded to be their advocates, to fight for each of them and share their journey with them, and lighten their burden, the best we can.? ?

We are the only ones they have.? ?