World Cancer Day 2013

Today, February 4, is World Cancer Day.

As we told you in this post last week, this is a specially earmarked day when people and organisations help raise awareness on cancer and how to prevent, detect or treat it.

Around 47% of cancer cases and 55%of cancer deaths occur in less developed regions of the world. By 2030, if current trends continue, cancer cases will increase by 81% in developing countries.

Every year 160,000 children are diagnosed with cancer, and it is estimated that 90,000 will eventually die of cancer.

At Mumbai Smiles, we’ve joined the global fight to beat cancer through our project HOPE: Care for Children with Cancer. This project provides underprivileged child cancer patients and their families with various forms of support — from financial to psychological — to help them cope with, and beat cancer.

On World Cancer Day, we have organised a motivational talk and meditation session for patients and families at the Holy Spirit Hospital in Andheri (E) by experts Aruna Ben and Tapaswini Ben.

Along with this, we will be sharing articles, information and providing a special update on our project to our supporters.

This year, the global focus for World Cancer Day 2013 is Target 5 of the World Cancer Declaration: Dispel damaging myths and misconceptions about cancer, under the tagline ‘Cancer – Did you know?’ To know more, go to the following links:

Myth 1: Cancer is just a health issue

Myth 2: Cancer is a disease of the wealthy, elderly and developed countries

Myth 3: Cancer is a death sentence

Myth 4: Cancer is my fate

Also read the articles, put together by Mumbai Smiles, as part of our efforts to raise awareness about cancer, particularly childhood cancers

Health watch: Cancer and drug resistance

Health watch: Understanding cancer

Health watch: Childhood cancers

Health watch: Treatment of Childhood Cancers

Health watch: Treatment of Childhood Cancers II

Fatal triad of inaccessibility: Cancer, financial burden of treatment and poverty

 For more information, visit the World Cancer Day website at www.worldcancerday.org