The first World Summit against Cancer was held in Paris in 2000 where the observance of World Cancer Day began.
At that event, a document called the Charter of Paris against Cancer was signed by various government agency leaders and cancer organisations committing to improve the quality of lives of cancer patients and advance a better understanding of cancer, its prevention and treatment.
The interaction between the environment, lifestyle choices, chronic diseases and familial or genetic factors all play a role in cancer development and death tolls.
Cancer has become a global epidemic and it affects all ages. Although cancer deaths keep increasing and may exceed 16.3 million by 2040, about 40% of the deaths are preventable.
In Fiji, cancer is the third leading cause of death. According to the Fiji Ministry of Health and Medical Services Annual Report, the top 5 cancer sites in men are liver, prostate, lung, stomach and colon. For women, the top five commonest sites are the cervix, breast, uterus, ovary and liver.
The observance of World Cancer Day helps raise awareness and educate people about cancer and how to fight it.
World Cancer Day is a global initiative observed every year on 4th February. The theme for the year is “Closing the Gap in Cancer Care”.
There is an equity gap in the access to essential healthcare services and this contributes to the cancer death rates. Closing this gap can save lives and thus it is imperative to overcome the barriers to access cancer care services.
According to worldcancerday.org, these barriers include the following:
In short, on this World Cancer Day ask yourself, your family, your community, and your nation this question, “What have you done to help close the gap in cancer care?”
Dr Mai Ling Perman,
Head of School – Medical Science
College of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (CMNHS)
Fiji National University.