World Cancer Day

2019 marks the launch of the 3-year ‘I Am and I Will’ campaign. ‘I Am and I Will’ is an empowering call-to-action urging for personal commitment and represents the power of individual action taken now to impact the future.

Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. There are over 100 types of cancer. And any part of the body can be affected. Anyone can develop cancer, however, the risk of getting it increases with age. Most cases occur in middle-aged adults or older. About 77% of all cancers are diagnosed in people 55-years or older.

World Cancer Day is marked on February 4 to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. World Cancer Day was founded by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to support the goals of the World Cancer Declaration, written in 2008. The primary goal of the World Cancer Day is to significantly reduce illness and death caused by cancer by 2020.

Taking place under the tagline ‘We can. I can.’, World Cancer Day 2016-2018 will explore how everyone – as a collective or as individuals – can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer.

Just as cancer affects everyone in different ways, all people have the power to take various actions to reduce the impact that cancer has on individuals, families and communities.

World Cancer Day is a chance to reflect on what you can do, make a pledge and take action. Whatever you choose to do ‘We can. I can.’ make a difference to the fight against cancer.

In 2012 there were approximately 13.7 million Americans with a history of cancer alive. Tobacco use is the single largest preventable cause of cancer in the world causing 22% of cancer deaths. The American Cancer Society estimates that in 2013 174,100 cancer deaths will be caused by tobacco use.

Source: dosomething.org | cancer.org | who.int