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February 4 World Cancer Day: How many more lives should perish before we act against Cancer together?
By Yavuz Selim Sılay & Ayşegül Birlik
Cancer is a life altering event.
Cancer is a global health problem.
10 million people die from cancer every year.
This is more than HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide.
70% of cancer deaths occur in low-middle-income countries.
Millions of lives can be saved each year by implementing resource-appropriate strategies for prevention, early detection and treatment.
“At least one-third of common cancers are preventable.”
About one-third of cancer deaths are due to tobacco use, excess weight, alcohol consumption, low fruit and vegetable intake, and lack of physical activity.
The total annual economic cost of cancer is estimated at US$1.16 trillion.
Experts predict that cancer deaths will rise to 13 million annually by 2030.
Cancer begins in cells, which are the building blocks of the body. Normally, when the body needs it, it creates new cells to replace the old cells that die. Sometimes this process goes wrong. New cells grow even when they are not needed, and old cells do not die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass called a tumor. Benign tumors are not cancer, while malignant ones are cancer.
In 2020, there were an estimated 19.3 million new cancer cases and approximately 10 million cancer deaths worldwide. Female breast cancer has surpassed lung cancer as the most frequently diagnosed cancer. It is followed by colorectal, prostate and stomach cancers in order.
Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death with an estimated 1.8 million deaths (18%), followed by colorectal (9.4%), liver (8.3%), stomach (7.7%) and female breast ( 6.9% followed cancers.
The global cancer problem is expected to be 28.4 million cases in 2040, an increase of 47% compared to 2020. The situation may worsen with increasing risk factors associated with globalization and a growing economy. Efforts to expand cancer prevention measures and build a sustainable infrastructure for the delivery of cancer care are critical to global cancer control.
We can support patients, physicians, caregivers as they work against this life altering event. we can generate awareness to make Government act decisively to invest in research to find cure for different types of cancer.
If I ask anyone do you know someone who has cancer or died from cancer, I bet the answer is almost always Yes…
We all are in an era where cancer has become widespread taking a toll on humanity with more than 10 million lives every year like a pandemy yet we are not modifying our lifestyles, eat healthier, stop tobacco and alcohol consumption, doing our regular check up and screening for cancer as early diagnosis is key for saving lives…
Lets act together and “close the care gap”
World Cancer Day is an international day marked on 4 February to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment. World Cancer Day is led by the Union for International Cancer Control to support .
Therefore we would strongly encourage today to remember and support our patients, caregivers, physicians, healthcare workers fighting against cancer in solidarity to “Make Cancer History”