World Cancer Day – Feb 4th

World Cancer Day: theme: "I can, We can.

World Cancer Day: theme: “I can, We can.

PAHO is uniting with the global cancer community to commemorate on February 4th, World Cancer Day with the slogan ‘’We can. I can’’. We seek to promote how everyone – as a collective or as individuals – can do their part to reduce the burden of câncer.

PAHO/WHO is working with Ministries of Health in Latin America and the Caribbean to prevent cancer, detect it early and improve treatment and palliative care, through the Regional Plan of Action for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases. Chief among the interventions promoted are:

  • Reducing the use of tobacco and harmful use of alcohol.
  • Supporting the introduction of HPV vaccines and HPV testing for improved cervical cancer prevention programs.
  • Improving the quality and access to early diagnosis of breast cancer.
  • Improving the quality of radiotherapy, and access to affordable and essential chemotherapy drugs for cancer treatment.
  • Expanding access to palliative care programs and opioids for pain relief and symptom management.

Modifiable risk factors

The most common modifiable risk factors for cancer, which are shared with many other noncommunicable diseases, are:

  • Tobacco use
  • Low fruit and vegetable intake
  • Harmful use of alcohol
  • Lack of physical activity
  • Chronic infections from human papilloma virus (HPV) -for cervical cancer, hepatitis B and C – for liver cancer, and H.pylori – for stomach cancer.

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