By: Brigid Martz Smith -
If you’re not already aware, today is World Cancer Day. World Cancer Day was founded by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) to support the goals of the World Cancer Declaration which calls upon government leaders and health policy-makers to significantly reduce the global cancer burden, promote greater equity, and integrate cancer control into the world health and developmental agenda. The overarching goal of the Declaration is that there will be major reductions in premature deaths from cancer, and improvements in quality of life and cancer survival rates through nine major targets.
The World Health Organization released The World Cancer Report predicting that new cancer cases will rise from 14 million to 22 million between 2012 and 2020 and estimating an increase in cancer deaths during the same period from 8.2 million a year to 13 million. These numbers demonstrate the growing need for policy-driven preventative public health policies. The report indicates that approximately half of all cancers are preventable and could have been avoided if lifestyle factors such as drinking, smoking, diet and exercise were modified, if screening programs were implemented, or certain vaccines were given. Lifestyle modifications will not prevent all cancer diagnoses and deaths, but it is clearly a step in the right direction and will allow for more focus and funding to be spent on spontaneous cancer diagnoses and the long term effects of treatment. While the Oncofertility Consortium is dedicated to addressing the complex health care and quality-of-life issues that concern young cancer patients whose fertility may be threatened by their disease or its treatment, we look forward to the day when our work is obsolete. Please join the Oncofertility Consortium in standing up in support of World Cancer Day!