Greenland opens cancer support centre as death risk nears double

Greenland has opened a cancer support centre in Nuuk, where patients and their families can seek advice and support during and after treatment. DR reports that while people in Greenland are about as likely to develop cancer as people in Denmark, they are nearly twice as likely to die from it.

The centre was created through a partnership between Greenland’s cancer association, Neriuffiit Kattuffiat, and the Danish Cancer Society. Around 250 people in Greenland are diagnosed with cancer each year.

A report by the Danish Cancer Society points to two reasons for the higher death rate: many people are diagnosed late, when the disease is more advanced and harder to treat, and smoking is common, contributing to cases of lung cancer, one of the deadliest forms of the disease.

Kristine Joelsen, who lost her husband to cancer in 2016, said she had nowhere to turn for advice at the time. “It’s very important to me to have a house like this,” she said. She brought freshly baked Greenlandic cakes to the opening.

Sara J. Brandt, a former chair of Neriuffiit Kattuffiat who helped launch the project, said people sometimes reach a doctor too late for treatment. She travelled from Aasiaat for the opening, but bad weather and a delayed flight meant she arrived too late to cut the ribbon. The journey highlighted the logistical challenges of getting medical checks in Greenland, including for a suspicious mole or breast lump.