National training of radiotherapists in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe: priorities and strategies for cancer control in developing countries.

The development of therapy resources should not be done in isolation of other cancer control activities. The right priorities and strategies must be determined in a systematic way, preferably through well-conceived national cancer control programs. If this is not done, it is unlikely that the therapy efforts will have any impact on cancer in the developing countries, as most cancers are incurable when seen for therapy. Therapy efforts must be linked with the search for earlier referral and diagnosis of cancer patients. However even limited resources may have an effect on controlling cancer, provided that the right priorities and strategies are followed. National and regional training facilities with a suitably adapted syllabus in radiotherapy and oncology must be a part of these priorities and strategies. The World Health Organization (WHO) has initiated, in close collaboration with the National Governments, national and regional training courses in radiotherapy and oncology in Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.