4 Feb: World Cancer Day - Saving Million Preventable Deaths

Cancer has a significant impact on communities in the United States and societies across the world. According to World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Consequently, it is necessary to address the issue and work upon it to come forth with some effective control measures. World Cancer Day (WCD) is a worldwide observance that aims to raise awareness regarding cancer and encourage its prevention, detection, and cure. The Union for International Cancer Control leads the day which is a worldwide consortium of more than 460 cancer-fighting organizations working in over 120 countries.  The event takes place globally on 4 February every year and targets the public through global communications such as telecasts and online advertisements, and motivate UICC member organizations and policy makers of different countries to make the cancer cure a political priority.

According to Cancer.org, in 2017, an estimated of 1,688,780 new cancer cases will be diagnosed and 600,920 cancer deaths will occur in the US alone. Therefore, take WCD as an opportunity to help save millions of preventable deaths every year worldwide by raising awareness and education regarding cancer, and forcing governments across the world to take an aggressive action against the life-threatening disease.

Different symbols are used to help advocate the fight against various types of cancers, such as a pink ribbon is a global symbol used for breast cancer awareness, and the orange ribbon promotes child cancer awareness. The American Cancer Society puts forward daffodil image as a symbol of hope for a future where cancer would no longer be any deadly epidemic.

On this day people, companies, government institutes, and various non-profit organizations unite and work together to help the general public understand the different types of cancer, how to detect them, measures to prevent the fatal disease, and treatment methodologies to heal it. The day is your unique opportunity to fight for the cause. Therefore, we encourage you to perform any of the following activities:

• Participate in nationwide campaigns focused on parents to help them minimize their risks of cancer within their families.
• Set up a public information booth or volunteer for one of those that features information kits, booklets, posters, fact sheets, and other items, promoting the cancer awareness, risk reduction, prevention measures, and treatments.
• Organize fund raising campaigns for cancer research that help fight the lethal disease.
• Design an event featuring keynote speakers talking on or video presentations regarding cancer issues.