February 4th World Cancer Day aims to prevent millions of preventable deaths each year by raising awareness and education about cancer and by challenging governments and individuals around the world to take action against the disease. World Cancer Day is a campaign that aims to resonate, instill change and mobilize action that will not be limited to the day of awareness, but will continue in the following days.
First organized in 2005 by the International Organization for the Control of Cancer (UICC), with which Turkey is in close cooperation, World Cancer Day activities have become traditional in the following years with campaigns carried out globally on February 4 of each year together with UICC and cooperating organizations.
Cancer is mainly caused by five behavioral and nutritional risk factors such as tobacco use, high body mass index (being overweight or obese), diet poor in fruits and vegetables, insufficient physical activity and alcohol consumption. However, it is now known that approximately one third of cancers are preventable through avoidance of risk factors and implementation of current evidence-based prevention strategies. It is also a known fact that many cancers are highly curable if diagnosed early and treated appropriately.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the world and in Turkey. Looking at the causes of death, it is seen that approximately one out of every 6 deaths worldwide and one out of every 5 deaths in our country is caused by cancer. Approximately 19 million people in the world get cancer every year and 9.9 million people die due to cancer. If the similar trend continues, 30 million new cases are expected to emerge in 2040. The most common types of cancer are breast, lung, colon, prostate and stomach. These cancer types are also among the most common in Turkey. According to the Turkey Cancer Statistics Report, 211,273 people were diagnosed with cancer within a year. The incidence is higher in men than in women (262.4 per 100,000 in men and 188.0 per 100,000 in women). The incidence increases with increasing age.
Internationally respected organizations that work extensively in the field of cancer, such as the International Organization for Cancer Control and the World Health Organization, state that each individual's actions, small or large, will lead to long-term, positive changes and call on people to avoid the following risk factors to prevent cancers:
-Tobacco use, including smoking and smokeless tobacco products
-Being overweight or obese
-Unhealthy diet, including low fruit and vegetable intake
-Lack of physical activity
-Alcohol use
-Sexually transmitted Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection
-Exposure to hepatitis or other carcinogenic infections
-Exposure to ionizing and ultraviolet radiation
-Urban air pollution
-Indoor smoke from solid fuel use