World Cancer Day is observed annually on February 4 to raise awareness about the disease and its prevention. Cancer is the leading cause of death globally and claims millions of lives every year. Prevention, early diagnosis, and screening are among the most important aspects of combatting cancer that can help save lives.
Date
World Cancer Day is marked on February 4 by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), a non-governmental international organisation dedicated towards uniting the cancer community and reducing the burden of cancer globally.
History
In 1999, Dr Gabriel Hortobagyi, Professor David Khayat, Dr Peter Harper, and a committee of oncologists got together in Paris to discuss the approach to fight cancer. Following this, the World Summit Against Cancer was created to inspire efforts to combat cancer. A year later on February 4, government officials, oncologists, and other stakeholders attended the Summit giving birth to the Paris Charter Against Cancer.
The charter designated February 4 as World Cancer Day “so that each year, the Charter of Paris will be in the hearts and minds of people around the world”.
The Paris Charter is geared towards promoting research on cancer, improving services for cancer patients, raising awareness, and mobilising the global community to act against the disease.
Significance
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer is a large group of diseases that can impact any part of the body. It is characterised by the abnormal growth of cells which can spread to other organs of the body and invade the adjoining parts.
Close to 10 million people died due to cancer in 2020 where lung cancer was the most common cause claiming 1.80 million lives, as per WHO.
While cancer can be life threatening, many cancer patients can be cured if the disease is detected early and treated properly. So it becomes crucial to create awareness about cancer prevention and control.
