World Cancer Day 2017

4 February

World Cancer Day takes place every year on 4 February and unites the world under a single theme to highlight the on-going fight against cancer. World Cancer Day aims to reduce the number of preventable deaths each year by raising cancer awareness amongst the general public and pressing governments to take further actions against the disease.

The importance of World Cancer Day

The global cancer epidemic is huge and is set to rise. Currently 8.2 million people die from cancer worldwide every year, out of which 4 million are premature deaths (aged 30 to 69 years). Urgent action needs to be taken to raise awareness about the disease and to develop practical strategies to address the cancer burden. Global disparities in access to prevention, treatment and palliative care are growing exponentially.

 

World Cancer Day is the ideal opportunity to spread the word and raise the profile of cancer in people’s minds, in the world’s media, and on the global health and development agenda.

World Cancer Day is an initiative by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). UICC is the leading international non-governmental organisation that unites the cancer community to reduce the  global cancer burden, to promote greater equity, and to integrate cancer control into the world health and development agenda.

World Cancer Day messages

It is a disease that knows no boundaries and has, or will, affect us all either directly or indirectly during our lifetime.

  • Actions taken by every person, organisation and government will help to reduce the burden of cancer to achieve the goal of a 25% reduction in premature deaths from NCDs by 2025.
  • World Cancer Day represents an opportunity for UICC, its members and the public to join a global movement of targeted, locally relevant and achievable actions which will reduce the burden of cancer.
  • Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, responsible for 8.2 million deaths per year. However we know that more than one third of these deaths are preventable, and if detected early enough, many cancers are curable.
  • Until cancer awareness is improved globally and actions are taken to prevent and treat the disease, millions of people around the world will die unnecessarily every year.
  • We must act now because the global cancer epidemic is huge and set to rise. It is predicted to increase to 19.3 million cases per year in 2025, from 14.1 million in 2012.

#WorldCancerDay
#WeCanICan

Source: World Cancer Day

 

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