World Cancer Day - February 4, 2009

World Cancer Day - February 4th.
In much of the world, February 4 is a major "awareness day" in the campaign to control cancer.

A relatively new initiative, the celebration of this event is rather low key so far. Spear-headed by the UICC’s Global Cancer Control Community through its Geneva offices, the effect is found in several countries. Canada has its own organized Campaign to Control Cancer [www.C2CC.org] with a Canadian leadership team under the championing direction of Pat Kelley. Their program involves several sectors, from government to students.

The international campaign is encouraging in that it involves children, through the optic of a problem which is particularly north american ... obesity in little people. On World Cancer Day, UICC launches the second full-year theme, in their Today's Children, Tomorrow's World, cancer prevention campaign. The rationale: being overweight or obesity can lead to cancer. The goal is to encourage kids to balance food and drink choices with physical activity. The campaign will call on families, health professionals, educators and policymakers to promote health and prevent cancer, by adopting and advocating a healthy energy-balanced lifestyle for children, thereby reducing their risk of developing cancer later in life.

Individuals and organizations have signed on to the World Cancer Declaration 2008 which I poste below. I signed on after our World Cancer Congress in Geneva last June, and so did The Strathmor Group. Here is an invitation to do the same. With more people involved, it would be hoped that one of the side effects will be a move to have the money donated to controlling cancer be made more transparent, in its end usage, especially research.

A call to action from the global cancer community: We the global cancer community call on governments, international governmental organizations, the international donor community, development agencies, professional organizations, the private sector and all civil society to take immediate steps to slow and ultimately reverse the growth in deaths from cancer, by committing to the targets set out below and providing resources and political backing for the priority actions needed to achieve them.

The 2020 Targets and Priorities of the 2008 Declaration can be found at http://www.uicc.org/templates/uicc/pdf/wcd2008/english.pdf
Sign up today.