World Cancer Day is marked every year on February 4th to raise awareness about the disease, its prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Experts emphasize that prevention is the most cost-effective long-term strategy for disease control, and that cancer, if detected early, is, in most cases, curable.
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that scientific evidence shows that a third of all cancer deaths can be prevented, while one third can be cured through early diagnosis and adequate treatment.
More than 15 million people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer each year, and about nine million die.
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death and disease, with about 70 percent of deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries, where health care is often inaccessible to those affected.
The idea for World Cancer Day was conceived at the first World Summit Against Cancer, held in Paris in 2000. Representatives of the world’s various government agencies and cancer organizations have signed a charter known as the “Paris Agreement Against Cancer”. This charter lists ten different articles that describe how the global community is committed to improving the quality of life of cancer patients and finding the cause, but also the possibility of ending the disease. The tenth article of this charter established February 4 as World Cancer Day.
About 30 percent of all deaths due to malignant diseases are caused by five main risks in the form of unhealthy behavior and habits: overweight, insufficient intake of fruits and vegetables, insufficient physical activity, and consumption of alcohol and tobacco products. Tobacco addiction alone is responsible for one-fifth of all deaths from malignant diseases, as well as more than 70 percent of all deaths from lung cancer. About 70 percent of all deaths related to malignant diseases occur in less developed countries, and 20 percent of them are caused by viral infections (hepatitis B and C viruses, human papilloma virus).
What is cancer?
Cancer arises from a single cell that loses the ability to respond adequately after malignant transformation to the control mechanisms of growth, division and death, which affects the malignant development of the cell. Malignant cells bypass normal cellular regulation and control of division, which causes uncontrolled growth and the formation of malignant tumors (neoplasms) and metastasis (the spread of malignant tumors to surrounding and distant tissues). The process of these changes goes through stages from premalignant changes to malignant changes. The possibility of cure and treatment is much greater if cancer is detected in the initial stage. Cancer is not a single disease, there are over 100 types of cancer, which are named after the organ or tissue from which the cancer originates. Another way of classification is according to the type of cells from which the cancer is composed, according to which the main subtypes are: carcinomas, sarcomas, lymphomas, leukemias and myelomas, and cancer of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord).
TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH!
1. A third of the most common types of cancer can be prevented
There is much that can be done at the individual, community and policy levels with the right cancer prevention strategies.
2. Cancer has warning signs
There are warning signs and symptoms for many types of cancer, and the benefits of early detection are undeniable.
3. By talking about cancer, we can help everyone who is already being treated
Although cancer can be a difficult topic to address, particularly in some cultures and settings, coping with the disease can improve outcomes at the individual, community, and policy levels.
The European Code Against Cancer The International Agency for Research on Cancer recommends 12 steps that each person can take to reduce the risk of cancer:
– No smoking
– Do not expose yourself to tobacco smoke from the environment
– Maintain an appropriate body weight
– Eat healthy
– Exercise and move
– Reduce alcohol intake
– Reduce sun exposure, especially for children
– Protect yourself from substances that cause cancer in the workplace
– Check the radon level in your surroundings, and reduce high values
– Vaccinate children against hepatitis B (infants) and human papillomavirus (HPV) for girls and boys before puberty aged 9–13
– Practice breastfeeding (women)
– Be an active participant in programs for the early detection of colon cancer (men and women), breast (women) and cervical cancer (women)
