World Cancer Day is observed worldwide on February 4. The aim is to inform and encourage people on its prevention, early detection, and treatment. This initiative was taken by the Union for International Cancer Control to campaign and advocate for the targets of the World Cancer Declaration, penned in 2008.
On this day, people from various international and local organizations all over the world unite to raise awareness about cancer and the need for better screening, diagnostic tools, earlier diagnosis and advanced treatment options.
On February 4th, 2000, the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium was held in Paris, marking the beginning of World Cancer Day. The introduction of World Cancer Day is a key component of the Paris Charter, which also seeks to advance cancer research, prevention, patient care, awareness, and worldwide mobilisation.
The World Cancer Day theme for 2026, United by Unique, places people at the heart of cancer care and conversations.Led by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), the campaign mobilises organisations and individuals worldwide to ensure that the voices of people affected by cancer are heard, and used to drive a more compassionate, people-centred approach to care.
Now in its second year, United by Unique is moving beyond awareness into reflection and local action, encouraging healthcare systems, employers and communities to show how care can be accessible, inclusive and responsive to individual needs. It recognises the person behind the diagnosis – their values, background, family responsibilities, working life and preferences – not just their clinical pathway.
As Cary Adams, CEO of UICC, explains: “The experiences of people affected by cancer – whether as a person living with cancer, a caregiver, a loved one, or a health worker – offer insight into the human side of care. They represent an invaluable and critical source of knowledge that must inform cancer policies and services, alongside clinical evidence.”
As shown in the 2025 World Cancer Day impact report, the theme has already achieved great success in bringing the global cancer community together to raise awareness of the need to create a future in which care and support is personalized, compassionate and accessible to all.
Cancer care is too often centred on the disease, the subtype, and the staging, without consideration for the person receiving the diagnosis, and the need for their voice in determining the best treatment decisions. In an emotionally and physically challenging time, people living with cancer do not always feel heard, seen or understood; they can feel helpless navigating healthcare systems with which they are unfamiliar, and alone in the challenges they face.
People-centred cancer care encourages everyone in the cancer care community to rethink and refocus how to approach the delivery of healthcare and cancer services, and how best to tailor these to each individual’s needs.
The theme highlights that every person’s cancer journey is different. Biology, culture, income and access to healthcare all shape outcomes. The campaign urges a move away from uniform approaches towards care that sees the person before the patient, supported by collective efforts to improve cancer care for all.
It is a sad fact of life that cancer still exists….as of 2026 it remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, with over 20 million new cases and nearly 10 million deaths annually. According to the American Association for Cancer Research. Projections suggest that global cancer diagnoses could exceed 30 million annually by 2050, driven by population growth and ageing.
While the statistics are sobering, they also underscore the importance of continued research, equitable access to care, and the human capacity to endure and thrive despite adversity.
While advances in science have improved survival for many cancers, progress has been uneven. Large gaps persist between countries and within populations, particularly in low- and middle-income settings, where late diagnosis and limited access to affordable care continue to drive poorer outcomes.
Where a person lives remains one of the strongest predictors of cancer survival. High-income countries often report higher incidence rates but lower mortality due to early detection and access to effective treatment. In contrast, many low- and middle-income countries face lower diagnosis rates but significantly higher death rates.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 40 per cent of cancer deaths are linked to modifiable risk factors such as tobacco use, harmful alcohol consumption, obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets and air pollution. This means a large proportion of cancers are preventable through effective public health interventions.
Living with cancer often brings a profound emotional toll that can ripple through every aspect of a person's life. From the moment of diagnosis, individuals experience shock, fear, and uncertainty about the future.
As treatment progresses, feelings of anxiety, sadness, and isolation can intensify, especially when physical changes or limitations affect self-image and daily routines.
For families of sufferers life is no less difficult. When a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, the emotional impact on their family can be profound and far-reaching.
Family members often experience a rollercoaster of emotions—shock, fear, sadness, and helplessness—as they wrestle with the uncertainty of the illness and the demands of caregiving.
The stress of managing medical appointments, financial strain, and shifting family roles can lead to anxiety and burnout, especially when trying to remain strong for the patient.
Children may feel confused or scared, while spouses and siblings might struggle with grief, guilt, or isolation. These effects on sufferers and their families highlight the importance of organisations like MacMillan Cancer Support who provide specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, and campaigns for better cancer care.
While scientific advancements are causing the survival rates for many cancers to rise exponentially, the effects are not being felt in developing nations. Many people in low and middle-income countries are unable to effectively access adequate cancer care, even when the infrastructure and expertise exist. This is what the Union for International Cancer Control refers to the “equity gap”, which is costing lives.While inequity is usually measured in terms of the unequal distribution of health or resources, there exists an array of underlying factors known as the “social determinants of health”. These include income, education, geographical location, national resources, gender norms and cultural bias. Discrimination and assumptions based on a person’s race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability and lifestyle also play a part .and they lead to wide discrepancies in the risks of developing and surviving cancer. The groups with the biggest disadvantages are also more likely to have increased exposure to additional risk factors, such as tobacco and an unhealthy diet. Cancer is a disease that will kill more than eight million people worldwide this year . The world needs to unite against this disease that knows no borders and represents one of humanity's most pressing concerns.
Moreover , understanding and responding to the full impact of cancer on emotional , mental and physical wellbeing will maximise the quality of life for patients, their families and care-givers. Every citizen should have access to free treatment options and care. Many cancer patients and their families describe feeling a loss of control of their lives after a cancer diagnosis.
Patients and families should be empowered to participate actively in decisions about their care and treatment plan which respects their individual needs and preferences.
This can go a long way in helping individuals to regain a sense of control and preserve their dignity throughout their cancer experience.
Like other wars, real and imagined, the war on cancer is a gift to opportunists of all stripes. Among the vultures are travel insurers who charge people with cancer ten times the rate charged to others, the publishers of self-help books and the promoters of miracle cures, vitamin supplements and various ‘alternative therapies’ of no efficacy whatsoever.
But most of all, there’s the pharmaceutical industry, which manipulates research, prices and availability of drugs in pursuit of profit. And with considerable success.
The industry is the UK’s third most profitable sector, after finance and tourism, with a steady return on sales of some 17 per cent, three times the median return for other industries.
Its determination to maintain that profitability has seen drug prices rise consistently above the rate of inflation. The cost of cancer drugs, in particular, has soared.
The industry claims high prices reflect long-term investments in research and development (R&D). But drug companies spend on average more than twice as much on marketing and lobbying as on R&D. Prices do not reflect the actual costs of developing or making the drug but are pushed up to whatever the market can bear.Since that market is comprised of many desperate and suffering individuals, it can be made to bear a great deal.
The research that this supposedly funds is itself warped by the industry. When it comes to clinical trials of their products, they engage in selective publication and suppression of negative findings and are reluctant in the extreme to undertake comparative studies with other products.
A real effort to reduce suffering from cancer requires a political struggle against a system that sanctifies profit – not a ‘war’ guided by those who exploit the disease.
On World Cancer Day and on any other day in fact, awareness is so important, for the survivors and those who are not so fortunate, we should not be afraid to talk about it. For many affected by the disease it is a solemn one of reflection, a time to become aware of this disease's impact and what is being done to help effect change for millions it impacts. A diagnosis of cancer does not mean that you have to live a painful and miserable life. Their is hope and positivity to. But it is so important to keep up the conversations.
Efficient and widely accessible cancer services will save countless individuals from a premature and often painful death. Greater equity in healthcare will also strengthen families and communities, benefit the economy with greater workforce participation and offer net savings to health budgets.
The campaign website for World Cancer Day
https://www.worldcancerday.org/ provides extensive details on the different barriers people are experiencing in accessing care, how this affects prevention, treatment, survival and support, and offers examples of actions that governments, organisations and individuals around the world can take to close the gap in cancer care.
More than a third of all cancers can be prevented and lives saved if detected early but the fact also remains that Inequity in cancer care costs lives.People who seek cancer care hit barriers at every turn. The Care gap affects everyone, including you and your loved ones. These barriers are not set in stone. They can be changed. Everybody should have equal access to the practical, emotional and social support they need to live life as fully as possible with the impact of cancer.
Please email your MP to help this campaign to support cancer patients on World Cancer Day, to to help the campaign to end delays to lifesaving cancer treatments.
