Surgeon warns that climate change can disrupt cancer care

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🗞️ Driving the news:
Climate change is increasingly disrupting cancer care, as extreme weather events like wildfires, floods, and storms prevent patients from accessing timely diagnosis, surgery, and treatment.

🔭 The context:
Medical experts, including surgeon Shaneeta Johnson, highlight that cancer outcomes depend on early detection and strict treatment schedules. However, climate-driven disruptions—hospital closures, displacement, and infrastructure damage—are making continuity of care harder to maintain.

🌍 Why it matters for the planet:
The growing frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters—driven by global warming—are not only environmental crises but also systemic stressors on healthcare systems, revealing how ecological instability can cascade into broader sustainability and resilience challenges.

⏭️ What’s next:
Healthcare systems are being urged to strengthen climate resilience through emergency preparedness plans, while patients are encouraged to safeguard medical records and plan for treatment continuity during extreme weather events.

💬 One quote:
“If there’s a wildfire… that has an immediate and a definite impact on your cancer treatment.” — Shaneeta Johnson

📈 One stat:
Extreme weather events have increased in frequency and intensity globally over recent decades, raising risks of healthcare disruptions.

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