On this World Cancer Day, people around the world have the opportunity to look closely at their own health and determine how much at risk they have for the disease and what cancer prevention efforts they can make.
World Cancer Day is a global health initiative by the Union for International Cancer Control to raise awareness about cancer and help people think through their own risk factors in a bid to reduce the global impact of cancer. It is observed each February 4.
The word “cancer” strikes fear in so many hearts, because so many Americans know someone who has suffered with or died from the disease. Observing World Cancer Day can help bring communities together in the fight against this fearsome disease.
The #WorldCancerDay 2025 theme is #UnitedbyUnique, highlighting that each cancer experience is individual and deeply personal.
So personal, in fact, that things people hold as closely and take as seriously as their diet, exercise, supplements and even deodorants are routinely claimed to be linked to cancer, or on the other hand, linked to cancer prevention.
To find out your risk factors, it’s important to visit your doctors regularly and ask them directly about cancer risks. It may help to look at risk factors scientists have already identified and determine where you can shore up your health.
Some of the biggest risk factors for cancer include lifestyle elements. Smoking is the leading preventable cause of deaths from cancer. Other factors include consuming alcohol, eating large amounts of red meats or processed foods and obesity. Efforts to reduce these risks are often highlighted on World Cancer Day.
Biggest of all: Simply aging. The median age of any cancer diagnosis is 66, according to the National Cancer Institute. For breast cancer, it’s 62; 66 for prostate cancer; for colorectal cancer, 67; and 71 for lung cancer, NCI statistics indicate.
On World Cancer Day, the UICC urges people also to encourage governments, researchers, nonprofit organizations and health institutions to make sure to appropriately track cancer occurrence and risks and to treat people who are suffering with the disease with dignity and care.
People of color have particular risks for adverse outcomes after a cancer discovery, in large part because of later diagnoses. Black, Asian, Native and Hispanic people get screened for cancer at lower rates and later in their illnesses than whites, according to KFF. Black people in particular have higher rates of mortality for the most common types of cancer. World Cancer Day shines a light on these disparities.
WORLD CANCER DAY RESOURCES
