World Cancer Day 2021 – creating a future without cancer
World Cancer Day is an annual awareness day led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) with the aim to unite charities, businesses, and the public in the fight against cancer.
By raising awareness, producing educational resources to improve people’s knowledge about cancer, and highlighting the action taken by individuals and organisations, World Cancer Day seeks to envision a world where loved ones are no longer lost to preventable cancers and everyone has access to life changing treatment.
This year, the theme of World Cancer Day is ‘I Am and I Will‘ – giving a voice to every individual who wants to make a commitment to act against cancer through positive efforts.
Why is World Cancer Day on Feb 4th?
Since 2000, February 4th has been designated World Cancer Day and is observed by people all over the globe. It was started at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium – a signal to global communities that promoted the efforts to beat cancer through improved research, better care standards and more awareness.
By having a single day dedicated to raising awareness about cancer, efforts can be joined to have as big an impact on the public as possible.
The results of international collaboration speak for themselves, with 2 in 4 people in the UK now surviving their cancer for 10 years or longer due to advances in addressing and treating cancer. With charities and institutions working together worldwide, great leaps in research and treatment can be made.
How does cancer affect families?
Millions of people are diagnosed with cancer each year around the world, with around 350,000 new cases in the UK alone, whether that’s in the earlier stages where preventative measure can be taken, to late-stage cancers which are more complex and problematic. Sadly, around 166,000 people die due to some form of cancer each year.
Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be particularly distressing, not just for the patient but also for their loved ones too. For families and friends looking to offer support, there are resources out there like Cancer Research UK’s how to support someone with cancer, guidance which can help support networks do everything they can.
What can I do to help?
There are many ways you can get involved with World Cancer Day, from helping to spread the message on social media and taking part in virtual events, to donating to local cancer charities to provide support to those affected in your area. There are now over 2.5 million people in the UK living with cancer in some capacity, so any help you can give to raise awareness and show your support is important.
By helping to raise awareness around the types of cancer and how to check for them, people may be more like go for a cancer tests and screenings if they think they may have some of the symptoms. The earlier people get checked and diagnosed, the more likely it is that a cancer gets found earlier and is potentially easier to treat.
Around 38% cases of cancer cases in the UK are deemed to have been preventable, so by helping to generate a greater awareness of cancer and how prevalent it can be, you can contribute to a wider effort to get more people to check for cancer and donate to charities.
Find out more about World Cancer Day
Want to get involved in World Cancer Day? If you or family member has been affected by cancer and you want to share that story, you could help encourage others to educate themselves around checking for cancer. Or you could run a fundraising event like a Macmillan coffee morning or sponsored run to help fund research into cancer treatments.
You can find more information on the World Cancer Day website on both educational resources and ways to get involved.
Cancer treatment at Ramsay Health Care
Find out more about specific types of cancer on our blog, such as:
- How to check for breast cancer
- How to recognise skin cancer
- Symptoms and treatments of ovarian cancer
You can also find a full breakdown of our oncology department services here, including our cancer aftercare to support you following any potential treatment. Please do get in touch if you’d like to speak to us or have any questions about our hospitals and services.
Statistics from:
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics-for-the-uk#heading-Zero
https://www.macmillan.org.uk/_images/cancer-statistics-factsheet_tcm9-260514.pdf