'We can. I can' - World Cancer Day urges action to tackle cancer

Posted: 04/02/2016

World Cancer Day, Thursday 4 February 2016, is a day dedicated to getting the world thinking about and taking action against cancer.

The theme of this year’s World Cancer Day is ‘We can. I can’, which seeks to encourage cancer organisations, charities and individuals to reflect on what needs to be done to tackle cancer, make a pledge and take action.

Just as cancer affects people in different ways, we all have the power to take action to reduce the impact that cancer has on individuals, families and communities, says Cancer Research UK which, for the first time, is working with three of the UK’s leading cancer charities for World Cancer Day – Breast Cancer Care, Movember Foundation and Anthony Nolan.

Each of the charities is also adopting a simple unified approach to fundraising under the slogan of #ADayToUnite. Members of the public are asked to make a donation in return for a wristband to be worn on the day. Although each charity has a band in its own colours and the funds donated go to each charity separately, it is hoped that more people will quickly understand the message and take action together with this joint approach, reports The Guardian.

Cancer Research UK highlights the vital importance that research plays in fighting cancer. One in two people born after 1960 in the UK will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime but, with the life-changing advances in research over the last 40 years, survival has doubled. Today, two in four people survive their cancer for at least 10 years. The charity’s ambition is to accelerate progress so that, within 20 years, three in four people will survive cancer.

Commenting on World Cancer Day, Lucie Prothero, senior associate at Penningtons Manches who specialises in delayed diagnosis of cancer claims, said: “Many of our clients have had cancer, are currently battling it or may lose their lives to cancer. We also regularly act for bereaved families who have lost a loved one to cancer in circumstances where there may have been a missed opportunity for earlier diagnosis and a better outcome.

“No one nowadays is untouched by cancer, whether it be personally, through family members, friends or colleagues. We agree that more collaboration in the fight against cancer can only be a positive thing and we support the message being sent out this World Cancer Day. In addition to vital research, awareness campaigns to alert the public to potential symptoms are an important strategy in the fight for early diagnosis and a better prospect of survival.”

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