World Cancer Day arrived over the weekend with the great news that survival rates have improved dramatically over the past five decades to around 50 per cent. What’s more, an effective cure for all types of cancer could be less than 10 years away, according to one of the world’s leading experts on the disease. In a decidedly upbeat message, the former head of the World Health Organisation’s cancer programme, Professor Karol Sikora, predicted that advances in genetics means doctors will soon be able to prescribe medicines targeting each individual’s cancer.