A woman stands amongst what is called \'The Field of Women\' located in Sydney October 27, 2002. The field consists of more than 10,000 silhouettes representing the number of Australian women diagnosed with breast cancer every year, plus 2,500 white silhouettes representing the number of women who die from the disease each year, and also 100 blue silhouettes to represent the number of men diagnosed with the cancer annually. The event enables members of the public to sponsor a silhouette and thus raise funds for cancer research. Picture: REUTERS/David Gray
WORLD Cancer Day 2025 is less than one month away. Led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and organised every February 4, World Cancer Day is a global initiative to improve awareness and knowledge of cancer risks and actions to better prevent, detect and treat the disease.
It has become one of the most celebrated health awareness days around the world.
This year marks the first year of the ‘United by Unique’ campaign calling for a people-centre approach to cancer care.
This approach is oriented around individuals and communities instead of just the disease. By fully integrating each individual’s unique needs with compassion and empathy, it leads to the best health outcomes.
‘United by Unique’ implies that every experience with cancer is unique and it will take everyone, united, to create cancer care that looks beyond the disease and sees the person before the patient.
Individuals from all walks of life and around the world are invited to share their personal cancer stories.
People across the world are encouraged to share videos or photos of themselves upside down, along with their unique story about how cancer turned their world upside down.
Hundreds of activities will take place globally to raise awareness about cancer, the risk factors, preventative screening for early detection, and to ensure that the specific needs of every person with cancer are met.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) published survey results from 115 countries, showing a majority of countries do not adequately finance priority cancer and palliative care services, as part of universal health coverage (UHC).
It estimates, based on the best sources of data available in countries in 2022, highlight the growing burden of cancer, the disproportionate impact on under-served populations, and the urgent need to address cancer inequities worldwide.
In 2022, there were an estimated 20 million new cancer cases and 9.7 million deaths. The estimated number of people who were alive within five years following a cancer diagnosis was 53.5 million. About 1 in 5 people develop cancer in their lifetime, approximately 1 in 9 men and 1 in 12 women die from the disease.
Lung cancer was the most commonly occurring cancer worldwide with 2.5 million new cases accounting for 12.4% of the total new cases.
Female breast cancer ranked second (2.3 million cases, 11.6%), followed by colorectal cancer (1.9 million cases, 9.6%), prostate cancer (1.5 million cases, 7.3%), and stomach cancer (970 000 cases, 4.9%).
Last year’s World Cancer Day campaign saw 900 activities and events take place in more than 127 countries, 138 iconic landmarks were illuminated across the globe, and more than 60 governments worldwide marked World Cancer Day.
The hashtag #WorldCancerDay trended on X globally throughout the day. There were more than 27 000 press mentions in 159 countries across print, online, and broadcast and more than 500,000 social media posts were shared, including from top government officials and celebrities, and more than 45,000 campaign materials were downloaded from the website.
Saturday Star
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