World Cancer Day

Organized by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), World Cancer Day is a fairly new holiday that aims to bring light to this age's old disease. First started in 2000 at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium in Paris, this day was formally adopted by what is called the Charter of Paris. The Charter was created with many goals, including to promote research on the prevention of and a cure for cancer as well as to raise awareness and bring about change to the services provided to patients. The founders knew that increased awareness and information would mobilize the global community to help combat cancer – in the spirit of this Charter, World Cancer Day was created.

The event has a particular focus on the power of collective action as well as the need to ensure equal access to medical care, including diagnosis and treatment. While it's understandable to feel overwhelmed in the face of cancer, World Cancer Day is about taking positive action and thus is a day of inspiration and hope.

By making World Cancer Day an annual event, it was hoped that the Charter of Paris would stay in the hearts and minds of people everywhere. The goals and ideas of the Charter will never be lost as long as there is even just one person to celebrate the day.